WRPRAPUPDATE

December 2011

Who We Are

The Wisconsin Rural Physician Assistance Program is the result of Wisconsin Act 190, passed and funded by the state legislature to address the acute and growing shortage of the medical workforce in rural Wisconsin. In addition to providing resources for health care provider loan repayment, the legislation allocated $750,000 in Budget Year 2010-11 to a new "rural physician residency assistance program" and designated the University of Wisconsin Department of Family Medicine to administer these funds, specifically for supporting graduate medical education in rural areas. The funding continues in the current biennium and is available to any Wisconsin residency program in family medicine, general surgery, internal medicine, obstetrics, pediatrics or psychiatry.

Annual Report

On December 1st, WRPRAP submitted to the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee its mandated Annual Report on efforts, progress and accomplishments over the past calendar year. This year’s report highlights:

  • Four WRPRAP awarded grants for the 2010-11 fiscal year and two for the 2011-12 fiscal year, thus far. Grants were issued in all three categories of WRPRAP funding: Rural Training Track/Resident support; sponsorship of a rural rotation; and education development projects.
  • Considerable effort on creating awareness of funding options to eligible potential grantees, including information sessions for residency program directors and coordinators at the annual Rural Health Conference of the Wisconsin Hospital Association in June 2011.
  • Individual site visits to seven program directors to explore interest and suitable funding options for their programs.
  • Website enhancements for more accessible information for likely grant applicants. Efforts to build networks among stakeholders through partner organizations.
  • Two additional staff to enhance program productivity and potential.

The 2011Annual Report can be read in its entirety of the WRPRAP web page at

Request for Proposals Issued

On November 15, 2011, WRPRAP issued its first Request for Proposals (RFP) to encourage development of new residencies or rural training tracks (RTT) or to add additional resident positions to existing programs. Eligible programs can apply for up to $150,000 for the first year and $125,000 for a second year to build infrastructure for a sustainable program that adds to the number of rural residency positions. This approach is in direct support of WRPRAP’s mission to lay the groundwork for an education pipeline that will supply the current and future medical workforce needs of rural communities. Previous WRPRAP funding mechanisms were directed at support for existing programs.

Find WRPRAP application forms for all WRPRAP grants at

Letters of Intent

The two-step RFP required a preliminaryLetter of Intent (LOI) describing the intended program. Accepted letters trigger an invitation to submit a full proposal by February 10th. Two LOIs were received and reviewed. Of the LOIs, one met the legislative funding requirements and was approved. WRPRAP will continue to work with those involved with this LOI to collaboratively move ahead with finalizing the plan and begin implementation of the project.

In order to enhance probability of success, WRPRAP will work with any funded programs on a collaborative basis to provide technical assistance and access to various kinds of expertise as well as financial assistance.

WRPRAP Outreach

Awareness of the growing urgency of developing more rural residency opportunities is increasingly apparent. Also apparent is that the desire for contributing to the solutions outstrips the knowledge of how to go about establishing accreditable graduate medical education programs. In response, WRPRAP plans to offer a training event in February for representatives of grant eligible programs who have specifically expressed an interest in developing new RTT or residency education programs. Participation in this event will be by invitation only in order to target those most ready for actual program development and thus to effect most expeditious implementation.

Access to WRPRAP funding for existing programs and via existing WRPRAP grant vehicles will continue. Funds are available for supporting rural rotations, RTTs and innovative approaches to education development. Newly revised application forms, instructions, and eligibility requirements are available on the WRPRAP web page at

WRPRAP will continue to seek partnerships with other stakeholders concerned about training the future rural medical workforce and willing to provide leadership in growing the kinds of graduate medical education opportunities that are most likely to encourage new physicians to choose rural practice.

Additional Staff

Paul V. Howl, B.S., joined the program staff in October 2011 as WRPRAP program assistant. Paul holds a degree in BusinessAdministration from the University of Southern California, has EMT and Firefighter certifications and is interested in a future career in public administration in a medical setting. His many organizational, budget monitoring, and e-skills are proving very valuable to the program.

Your Voice Needed

WRPRAP would like to hear from you if you would like to:

  • Know more about WRPRAP, funding opportunities, or how to connect with others in your area who might be interested in collaborating to provide new rural residency opportunities.
  • Give input on the opportunities, challenges or consequences to your organization of electing particular RTT models.
  • Meet with WRPRAP staff to discuss specific ideas you have for WRPRAP-assisted participation in expanded rural resident training.

In each case, you should contact Program Coordinator Wilda Nilsestuen at or 608-262-2764.

Join the WRPRAP Mailing List

If you are receiving this message via email, you are on the WRPRAP mailing list and no further action is required to continue to receive updates. To encourage colleagues or other potentially interested parties to join, please forward this message to them.

To keep in touch with program activities at our website or be added to the WRPRAP UPDATE dissemination list, visit:

As always, we thank you for your continued interest and support. Best Wishes for a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Wilda G. Nilsestuen

Coordinator