UW Graduate Medical Education Receives Federal Grant to Expand Rural Physician Training in Wyoming

The University of Wyoming’s Department of Graduate Medical Education (GME) has received a federal Rural Residency Planning and Development (RRPD) grant from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to establish a new Family Medicine Rural Training Program in Buffalo.

The award will support planning, development and accreditation activities to launch Wyoming’s second rural residency training track, creating new opportunities for physicians to complete residency training in rural communities and helping address healthcare workforce shortages across the state.

“Access to residency training is one of the most important factors influencing where physicians ultimately choose to practice,” says Dr. Beth Robitaille, GME designated institutional officer and a clinical professor for the UW Family Medicine Residency Program at Casper. “This grant allows us to expand training opportunities in rural Wyoming while strengthening the physician workforce for the future.”

Training Physicians Where They Are Needed Most

Rural communities across Wyoming continue to face physician shortages. Research has shown that physicians who complete residency training in rural settings are significantly more likely to remain in rural practice after graduation.

UW has experienced that trend firsthand. Many of the family medicine residents who graduated from the Casper Family Medicine Residency Program, Cheyenne Family Medicine Residency Program, Thermopolis Rural Training Track and geriatric medicine fellowship program have stayed or returned to practice in Wyoming. According to the 2025 Wyoming WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana and Idaho) executive summary, 172 of 284 graduates -- or 60.6 percent -- who completed residency training returned to practice medicine in Wyoming. By increasing graduate medical education opportunities within the state, UW aims to strengthen that pipeline and improve access to care for Wyoming residents.

Nationally, however, only about 2 percent of residency training occurs in rural areas, according to the U.S. HRSA. HRSA also notes that physicians who train in rural settings are more likely to practice in rural communities after graduation, which highlights the need for additional programs designed specifically to prepare physicians for rural practice.

New Rural Training Program Planned for Buffalo

The RRPD grant will allow UW GME to create the new Family Medicine Rural Training Program in Buffalo, providing residents with immersive training experiences in a rural healthcare setting.

Buffalo has a long history of supporting medical education. The community has hosted family medicine clerkships for WWAMI medical students since 1999 and offers a broad range of rural clinical experiences through Johnson County Healthcare Center.

Several graduates of UW’s Casper Family Medicine Residency Program currently practice in Buffalo, creating a strong foundation for continued collaboration between the university and community healthcare partners.

The new program will become Wyoming’s second rural training track, joining the successful rural training track in Thermopolis. Residents in the Buffalo program will gain experience caring for patients across the full spectrum of family medicine while training in a community that reflects the realities of rural healthcare practice.

Federal Investment in Rural Residency Development

UW is among the recipients of HRSA’s fiscal year 2026 Rural Residency Planning and Development awards. The federal program provides funding to help rural and tribal communities establish new physician residency programs that can be sustained long-term. The grant funds do not pay for any of the program’s operation. Instead, they support the work of developing and creating the program.

The grant supports essential development activities, including accreditation preparation, curriculum design, faculty development, community partnerships and resident recruitment.

Since 2019, HRSA’s Rural Residency Planning and Development program has helped establish 66 accredited rural residency programs and created 818 approved residency positions nationwide, expanding physician training opportunities in rural communities across the country.

Looking Ahead

The Buffalo Rural Training Program represents the next step in UW’s long-term strategy to strengthen healthcare access across Wyoming through physician education.

“By expanding residency training opportunities in rural communities, we are investing in Wyoming’s future healthcare workforce,” Robitaille says. “These programs create pathways for physicians to build careers in Wyoming while ensuring patients have access to high-quality care close to home.”

UW GME expects to begin program development activities immediately, with accreditation planning, recruitment efforts and community partnerships underway in preparation for future resident training.

About UW Graduate Medical Education

The University of Wyoming Department of Graduate Medical Education, part of the College of Health Sciences, trains family physicians to serve Wyoming’s rural and frontier communities. Programs include family medicine residencies in Casper and Cheyenne, Thermopolis Rural Training Track and a geriatric fellowship in Casper. A new Family Medicine Rural Training Program is currently in development in Buffalo, with the expected first resident to begin in 2029.

For more information on the HRSA Rural Residency Planning and Development Program, visit www.hrsa.gov/rural-health/grants/rural-health-research-policy/rrpd.

For more information on the Wyoming Medical Society’s 2025 Wyoming WWAMI Executive Summary, visit www.wyomed.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Wyoming-WWAMI-Executive-Summary-2025_Final.pdf.