Texas State Health Plan: 1987-1988 Page: 83
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between residents seeking to practice in medically
underserved areas and the respective community
leaders.
ALTERNATIVE SELECTED
Numerous studies have shown that the greatest
potential for resolving problems of physician
maldistribution are programs directed to medical
students and residents. The availability and location
of residency training sites is a predominant factor in
whether Texas medical school graduates remain in
the state to practice.
The demonstrated success of the Family Practice
Residency Program in retaining our medical school
graduates in Texas following completion of graduate
medical education provides the impetus for
assigning a funding priority to this program for the
70th Legislature.
Additional recommendations are included to improve
the Family Practice Residency Program and the
State Rural Medical Education Board. The
development of a cooperative physician placement
program is recommended to assist areas with a
shortage of physicians in their efforts to recruit and
retain physicians.
Recommendations:
Primary Care Physicians
1. Allocate state funds for the Family Practice
Residency Program at no less than the 1987
appropriation level of $7.3 million and as justified
by the current program appropriation request.
Funding should be adequate to enable the
program to meet current funding commitments
and allow for the projected growth in the number
of residents-in-training during 1988 and 1989.
2. Identify and monitor physician shortage areas by
the Family Practice Residency Program in
association with the Texas Department of Health
and the Texas Medical Association to assist in the
recruitment of Family Practice Residency Program
graduates for service in areas of need.
3. Reallocate the monies collected by the State
Rural Medical Education Board through the
repayment of loans (including interest and
penalty) by program participants to the board from
state general revenue funds for the sole purpose
of redistribution as loans to loan candidates.
4. Reevaluate and strengthen the loan repayment
provisions of the State Rural Medical EducationBoard with the objective to increase the number
of participants serving in rural areas.
5. Develop a cooperative statewide program to
assist communities in physician shortage areas
with the recruitment and retention of primary care
physicians. Practice incentives are encouraged
to attract physicians to these areas. A statewide
organization could administer the program
through cooperative arrangements with graduate
medical residency programs, community leaders
of physician shortage areas, and other
appropriate entities.
Nurses
1. Evaluate the lack of substantive evidence
concerning distribution problems for registered
nurses and determine if a shortage of nurses
exists in some areas of the state. Evaluate
changes in the employment trends for nurses to
determine the effects of reduced hospital
occupancy rates, increased severity of illnesses
of nursing home patients, and increased home
health and community-based health services
programs on the demand for nurses.
2. Monitor proposed changes in the educational
requirements for licensure as a registered nurse,
the decline in nursing school enrollments in
Texas, and the increased demand for specialized
nurses to determine the effects of these
educational and employment trends on the
supply of and demand for nurses.
REFERENCES
1C. Lincoln Williston, "Medical Manpower in Texas:
The Challenge," Texas Medicine, March 1973, pp.
106-109.
2Rural is defined in this chapter as non-metropolitan
as designated by the Bureau of the Census.
Metropolitan areas are generally defined as counties
with a population of 50,000 or more.
3Primary Care Health Manpower Shortage Areas are
designated by the U.S. Department of Health &
Human Services.
4Coordinating Board, Texas College and University
System, "Overview of Medical and Dental Education
in Texas," Health Affairs Division, 1986 (Mimeo-
graphed).1987-88 TEXAS STATE HEALTH PLAN
83
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Texas. Statewide Health Coordinating Council. Texas State Health Plan: 1987-1988, report, 1986; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1586615/m1/95/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.