Florida desperately needs more primary care doctors and ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s College of Medicine, armed with a $2.6 million federal grant, is doing its part to create those physicians.

The college’s new Primary Care Scholarship Program is providing about 100 medical students with financial aid and unique clinical experiences caring for a variety of patient groups β€” from Special Olympians to seniors β€” to expose them to the broad career opportunities in internal medicine, family medicine and pediatrics. The goal, say college leaders, is to encourage students to stay in state to become community physicians.

β€œBeing a primary care physician is about being a part of someone’s life,” says Jeff LaRochelle, associate dean for academic affairs and an internal medicine specialist by training. β€œWe have students at ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ who grew up in communities that need outstanding, engaged physicians; places like Ocala, Pensacola, Kissimmee, Tallahassee, Gainesville. We are hoping that we can encourage them to stay here and provide needed care to the communities that raised them.”

The two-year grant was one of four given this year by the Health Resources and Services Administration to help address the nation’s primary care physician shortage. Medical school leaders hope ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s program can be used as a national model and be successful enough to become sustainable after the grant ends.

Florida’s Need for Physicians Is Great

Only 73% of Florida residents report having a personal physician. And the nationwide physician shortage hits Florida harder for several reasons.

First is the state’s fast-growing population, which is projected to grow by 6 million people in just the next five years. The Florida Department of Health reports a current 12% gap between the supply and demand for physicians, which is expected to more than double to 28% by 2035.

Florida ranks 45th nationally in health access and affordability. Florida’s high percentage of residents over age 65 β€” 22% and expected to reach 26% by 2035 β€” require more healthcare services, further exacerbating access to care.

Florida also has more uninsured residents (11.2%) than the national average (8%), according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The physician shortage is also more pronounced in rural, remote and under-resourced urban communities.

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s College of Medicine has graduated more than 500 new physicians in the last five years and 36% of those new graduates went into primary care specialties. However, almost 70% of those new doctors left Florida for their residency training.

Through a partnership with HCA Healthcare, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ has Florida’s fastest growing residency and fellowship programs.

ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s new program is designed to inspire graduates to stay in-state while encouraging more students to become primary care physicians. Through a partnership with HCA Healthcare, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ has Florida’s fastest growing residency and fellowship programs. LaRochelle hopes the new primary care program will better link ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s undergraduate and residency training.

β€œOur hope is to reach out to medical students and offer them a path to do their residency in their hometown and provide needed care to their community,” he says.

In addition, doctors who provide care for communities in need are also eligible for forgiveness for their medical school loans.

group of three medical students practice bracing a patient's leg while she lays on the grass
ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s new program is designed to inspire graduates to stay in-state while encouraging more students to become primary care physicians. Doctors who provide care for communities in need are eligible for forgiveness for their medical school loans. (Photo by Eric Eraso)

Students Say Program Opened Their Eyes, Hearts

First-year ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ medical student Sarah Khan ’24 was raised in Kissimmee. She participated in the College of Medicine’s summer Health Leaders Camp, which inspired her to pursue medicine as a career. She worked at a pharmacy before entering medical school and earned her bachelor’s degree from ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ in biomedical sciences. She is part of the Primary Care Scholarship Program.

β€œIn the pharmacy, I saw the challenges my neighbors are facing,” she says. β€œThis is the community that helped raise me. Doctors in this community mentored me. I want to stay here and help improve the health of the people around me.”

β€œDoctors in this community mentored me. I want to stay here and help improve the health of the people around me.” β€”  Sarah Khan ’24, ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½ College of Medicine student

In its first months, the program provided multiple extra-curricular experiences for students. They visited and went on rounds with physicians providing primary care to residents at the university-supported retirement community. They did healthcare screenings for Special Olympians participating in a golfing event and were so popular they were invited back to the Special Olympics Florida State Fall Classic.

They did simulated training with residents from the ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½-HCA Internal Medicine residency at HCA Florida Ocala Hospital and learned how to react to multiple emergencies – from asthma attacks in the wilderness to broken limbs.

Primary care scholarship M.D. student Christian Sachs is a self-described β€œsports guy” who spent his youth playing soccer and later coached the sport. The Sarasota native said he came to med school thinking he might want a more β€œhands-on” specialty than primary care. Then he spent time during the program working with internal medicine doctors who are sports medicine specialists at AdventHealth-affiliated Rothman Orthopaedics.

He worked on the sidelines of a high school football game where primary care doctors serve as team physicians.

β€œI was able to see when medicine and sports come together,” he says. β€œWhen I was playing and coaching, we never had that level of care. If someone twisted an ankle, we had to look for someone to help us know how serious it was. It was incredible to see physicians working with the trainers to provide such a strong level of care for our high school athletes. Standing on the sidelines with them was one of the best experiences I’ve had in medical school.”

Magda Pasarica, professor of medicine at the medical school, is program director and primary investigator for the primary care program. She is an M.D./Ph.D. whose specialty is family medicine. She hopes the program can expose ΒιΆΉΣ³»­΄«Γ½β€™s physicians-in-training to all the options for their future, whether they decide to go into primary care or not.

β€œThere are so many options in my specialty alone β€” sports medicine, geriatrics, research. Family medicine allows you to take care of generations,” she says. β€œIt’s where you can impact the health of an entire family.”