NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A bill meant to increase the number of physicians available in rural communities passed the Tennessee General Assembly on Wednesday.
Senator Richard Briggs (R - Knoxville) sponsored S.B. 0298 which creates more residency opportunities in rural communities for physicians-in-training. The residency opportunities will focus on family practice, general pediatrics, internal medicine and psychiatry.
These opportunities give aspiring physicians chances to develop their medical knowledge and get hands-on experience while also helping underserved communities.
“Over the past 25 years, the population of Tennessee has doubled, but the number of primary care physician residencies remains frozen at the same amount because of the lack of federal funding since 1996,” said Sen. Briggs, who is a physician.
The legislation is also meant to incentivize physicians to stay in rural communities after completing residency programs, helping create a permanent solution for health issues in those regions.
Briggs said that around 60% to 70% of doctors stay in communities where they train, and workforce projections show that Tennessee could have a doctor shortage of 1,050 by 2025.
The residencies created by the legislation will be open to graduates of University of Tennessee schools, Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University. They will need to be approved by the National Accreditation Agency for Graduate Medical Education.
Residencies would also be offered through Lincoln Memorial University, which offers osteopathic medicine. It takes a whole-person approach towards medicine, promoting disease prevention.
The residencies would be funded by a $5.5 million increase in the state budget, which passed last week. It is headed to Governor Bill Lee's desk for his signature.