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Practice-based Research Network Membership is Associated with Retention of Clinicians in Underserved Communities: A Research Involving Outpatient Settings Network (RIOS Net) Study

From the Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, University of New Mexico Health Sciences Center, Albuquerque, NM

Correspondence: Corresponding author: Robert Rhyne, MD, MSC 095 040, 1 UNM, Albuquerque, NM 87131 (E-mail: rrhyne{at}salud.unm.edu)

Background: Professional isolation is a barrier to practicing in rural and underserved communities. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between membership in a practice-based research network and the length of employment in members’ and nonmembers’ current clinic sites.

Methods: This was a cross sectional study of 7 group practices (2 urban and 5 rural groups comprising 22 clinic sites) throughout New Mexico that had RIOS Net member and nonmember practicing clinicians.

Results: The 22 clinics employed 95 clinicians, of which 43% were RIOS Net members (21 of 59 MDs, 8 of 18 Nurse Practitioners, 9 of 15 Physician Assistants and 3 of 3 others). RIOS Net members had a significantly longer mean employment time (7.0 years; SD, 6.8 years; median, 5.0 years), compared with non-RIOS Net members (4.0 years; SD, 5.0 years; median, 2.3 years; P = .003). Similar results were found when analyzed by length of time in practice with cutoffs of 2 and 5 years.

Discussion: Being a member of a practice-based research network may be a determinate of staying in rural practice longer. This is a hypothesis-generating study and needs confirmation from larger studies whose analysis stratifies clinician demographics and practice type.

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				M. A. Bowman, A. V. Neale, and P. Lupo Third Journal of the American Board of Family Medicine Practice-based Research Theme Issue J Am Board Fam Med, July 1, 2008; 21(4): 255 - 257. [Full Text] [PDF]