Fewer people from rural backgrounds are becoming doctors

Fewer than 5% of medical school graduates in recent years were from rural backgrounds, according to a new study. Students from rural areas are more likely to return there to practice medicine, but a lack of these graduates could spell a continued shortage of rural physicians down the road. Researchers found that the number of graduating medical school students from rural backgrounds decreased by 28% between 2002-2017. In 2016 and 2017, rural students made up only about 4% of the whole medical student population in the U.S., the smallest share in the 16-year study period. At the same time, the proportion of doctors from urban areas grew by 35%. Rural students often have lower MCAT scores and other disadvantages, so encouraging medical schools to take a more holistic approach to admissions could help recruit more rural students to medicine, the authors suggest.