The Rural House Officer Program is an opportunity to broaden residents' training, experience the practice of medicine differently, and learn more about the communities of New Mexico. The goal is to give trainees meaningful experiences caring for patients in rural communities while helping strengthen New Mexico’s physician workforce. This is a state-supported program and funding is provided to participating sites.
UNM residency and fellowship programs with trainees rotating at approved rural training sites are eligible.
UNM is building centralized infrastructure that can support rural resident rotations now and potentially new rural tracks and programs in the future. Help shape the future of rural medical training at UNM.
Another barrier to rural electives is the cost and hassle of temporarily relocating. This program is designed to help address that. Resident/fellow housing is covered and travel reimbursement is available for rotations more than 50 miles away.
Inability to cover salary and benefits for external rotations is a historic national barrier to rural training experiences, solved by this state program. You will receive your usual paycheck from UNM.
This is an opportunity to train in different clinical environments and communities beyond Albuquerque, which is beneficial no matter what your future practice looks like. The program is explicitly designed to expand rural resident and fellow training opportunities across New Mexico.
The program allows for many sites to provide a $3,000 support incentive for a 4-week rotation, but this does not include all sites. The purpose of this incentive is to cover increased costs often associated with away rotations, such as food, laundry and community experiences. Please note some locations have internal regulations that don’t allow for this, particularly federal IHS sites. We are working diligently to find solutions for those sites.
Each rotation will have a brief community engagement curriculum, supported by the UNM Office for Community Health. The goals are to get to know more about the community of your clinical experience. Our community partners are excited to host more UNM GME trainees, and the Office for Community Health is excited to work on these connections, while understanding the busy nature of resident and fellow schedules.
Residents and fellows from a wide range of specialties may be eligible to participate in rural rotations. Opportunities vary by specialty because established partnerships and available clinical experiences differ across rural communities. Residents and fellows interested in a rural experience should contact their Program Director or Program Coordinator to learn about opportunities available within their specialty.
UNM residents and fellows are currently rotating, or are expected to rotate, in communities throughout New Mexico, including: Alamogordo, Carlsbad, Española, Farmington, Gallup, Grants, Las Cruces, Las Vegas, Lovington, Portales, Ruidoso, Santa Fe, Santa Rosa, Shiprock, Silver City, Taos, and Zuni.
New rural training locations and partnerships continue to be developed, so available locations may change throughout the year.
Some UNM departments may offer educational experiences outside New Mexico or internationally. However, the HB2 Rural Residency and Rotation initiative and its associated State of New Mexico funding are focused on eligible training experiences within New Mexico.
Residents interested in other opportunities should consult their individual training program.
Not necessarily. Rural experiences vary by specialty. Many rural rotations are offered as electives, while some programs incorporate rural experiences into their required curriculum. Programs with established rural partnerships may also allow residents to select among several approved training sites.
Programs may consider developing opportunities at new rural sites when the experience meets educational and program requirements. Establishing a new rotation site may require additional time for review, affiliation agreements, and other approvals.
Eligible residents may receive a Rural Rotation Support Incentive associated with an approved rural rotation.
The current incentive structure is:
The incentive is generally paid by the affiliated rural training site and reimbursed through the HB2 Rural Residency and Rotation program. Payment is made after completion of the applicable rotation period. Residents should confirm eligibility, payment procedures, and timing with their program before beginning the rotation. Incentive payments may have tax implications.
The goal of HB2 funding is to reduce the financial burden associated with participating in an approved rural rotation. Whenever possible, the affiliated rural training site arranges and pays for eligible housing directly. The site may then seek reimbursement through the HB2 program. When a participating site cannot arrange or prepay for housing, including certain IHS or Tribal 638 locations, UNM may assist with arranging eligible housing through the resident's or fellow's department.
Residents should coordinate housing with their program before making reservations or paying housing expenses personally to ensure the expense is eligible and the appropriate process is followed.
Eligible travel expenses associated with an approved rural rotation may be supported through HB2 funding when program requirements are met. Generally, travel reimbursement applies to approved rural rotation sites located more than 50 miles from the resident's assigned work location.
Depending on the rotation and the support being provided, eligible expenses may include:
Applicable reimbursement limits are generally based on the current rates established by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), including lodging, meals and incidental expenses (M&IE), and mileage rates. The federal fiscal year runs from October 1 through September 30. Accordingly, reimbursement rates are subject to change and will be based on the applicable GSA rates in effect during the federal fiscal year in which the expense is incurred.
Residents should obtain approval and confirm applicable reimbursement procedures before incurring travel expenses.
Start by talking with your Program Director or Program Coordinator.
Many programs already have relationships with rural training sites and can help identify available opportunities. UNM Graduate Medical Education is also working to expand the number of participating rural sites throughout New Mexico. If you are interested in a community or clinical site where your program does not currently have an established relationship, talk with your program or the GME office. UNM may be able to explore establishing a new partnership.
Plan early: New training sites generally require additional lead time because affiliation agreements, educational requirements, and other approvals must be completed before a rotation can begin.
Potentially. The number and frequency of rural rotations depend on the specialty, curriculum, ACGME requirements, available rotation time, and the resident's or fellow's interests.
Some programs require rural experiences, while others offer them as electives or longitudinal experiences. Certain programs may allow residents to complete multiple rural rotations when doing so is consistent with their educational requirements.
Residents interested in completing more than one rural experience should discuss available options with their Program Director.
Residents and fellows interested in exploring a rural training opportunity should begin by contacting their Program Director or Program Coordinator. UNM Graduate Medical Education and participating programs continue to develop partnerships with healthcare organizations throughout New Mexico to expand high-quality rural training opportunities for residents and fellows. New training sites and opportunities continue to be added.