42 U.S.C. § 293m — Rural physician training grants

(a) In general: The Secretary, through the Health Resources and Services Administration, must create a grant program. Its goals are to help schools recruit students likely to practice in underserved rural communities, give rural-focused training, and grow the number of new medical graduates working in those communities. (b) Eligible entities: To get a grant, a school must (1) be an accredited school of allopathic or osteopathic medicine, or a group of such schools, and (2) apply to the Secretary and certify it will use the money as described in subsection (d)(1). (c) Priority: The Secretary favors schools that (1) have a strong record of training students who go on to practice in underserved rural communities; (2) show that an existing program already produces many graduates who practice there; (3) show partnerships with rural communities, such as matching funds, in-kind services, or training partners; or (4) submit a plan for tracking, long-term, where their graduates end up practicing. (d) Use of funds: (1) Establishment: A school must use the grant to build, improve, or expand a rural-focused training program (the "Program"). (2) Structure of Program: The school must (A) enroll at least 10 students per class year, and (B) set admission rules that favor students (i) who lived in an underserved rural community for 2 years or more, and (ii) who commit to practicing in an underserved rural community. (3) Curricula: The Program must include coursework and clinical experience for rural practice, including (A) clinical rotations in underserved rural communities and relevant specialties, and (B) extra coursework on medical issues common in underserved rural areas, beyond the core curriculum. (4) Residency placement assistance: Where possible, the Program must help students find residency training in underserved rural communities, or in programs that train doctors for rural practice. (5) Program student cohort support: The Program must give students group activities that reinforce their commitment to rural practice. (e) Annual reporting: A school getting a grant must report yearly to the Secretary on the Program's success, including where graduating students end up in residency. (f) Regulations: Within 60 days of March 23, 2010, the Secretary must issue a regulation defining "underserved rural community." (g) Supplement not supplant: A school must use grant funds to add to, not replace, other federal, state, and local money it would otherwise spend on these activities. (h) Maintenance of effort: A school must keep spending its own (non-federal) money on these activities at least at the level it spent the year before getting the grant. (i) Authorization of appropriations: Congress authorized $4,000,000 for each year from 2010 through 2013.