Factors associated with the recruitment and retention of family and community medicine and nursing residents in rural settings: A qualitative study

Abstract

Abstract Background Currently, the growing shortage of primary care doctors and nurses is causing difficulties in replacement, and this shortage is expected to increase. This situation is more pronounced in rural environments than in urban ones. Family and community care specialty training is a key component of both the transition to clinical practice and the retention of new professionals. The aim of the study is to explore the attitudes and perceptions of internal medicine residents and internal nurse residents trained in a rural teaching unit on factors associated with recruitment and retention, including the role of the specialty training programme. Methods A qualitative study was conducted. Purposive sampling was used and thirteen residents from the central Catalonia teaching unit who were in their final year of training participated in semi-structured interviews. The data were collected during the year 2022. The data were subsequently analysed with thematic analysis. The study is reported using the COREQ checklist. Results Six themes emerged from the data related to perceptions and attitudes about the factors associated with recruitment and retention: training programme, characteristics of the family and community specialty, concept of rural life, family and relational factors, economic and resource factors, and recruitment and job opportunities. Conclusions Family and community medicine and nursing residents trained in rural settings expressed satisfaction with the specialty programme and most features of primary care, but they experience a wide range of uncertainties in deciding on their professional future. The study identifies individual and structural factors to consider and that could be of great use in order to retain doctors and nurses in rural areas.