Rural and Underserved Clinical Rotations Grant Program (RUCR)

The Rural and Underserved Clinical Rotations Grant Program (RUCR) aims to enhance health professional training by funding rotations in rural and underserved areas. This initiative supports various training programs, including physician, physician assistant, and mental health professions, to ensure that healthcare providers receive practical experience in community settings. With $1.5 million available for approximately 4-6 grants, this program seeks to improve access to quality healthcare in Minnesota's rural communities.

The Rural and Underserved Clinical Rotations grant program, authorized by Minnesota Statutes Sec 144.1505, is established to award health professional training site grants to eligible physician, physician assistant, advanced practice registered nurse, pharmacy, dentistry, dental therapy, and mental health professional programs to augment existing clinical training programs to add rural and underserved rotations or clinical training experiences, such as credential or certificate rural tracks or other specialized training. For physician and dentist training, the expanded training must include rotations in primary care settings such as community clinics, hospitals, health maintenance organizations, or practices in rural communities.
The following training program types are eligible to apply for funding:

• Physician,Physician assistant,Advanced practice registered nurse,Pharmacy,Dentistry,Dental therapy, andMental health professional programs.

MDH anticipates awarding $1,500,000 through approximately 4-6 grants in this funding cycle. There is no match requirement for this grant.