<p>I am a senior in HS and hopefully, I will get into Rice and pursue medical school. Right now, I am interested in a few specialties but I know that will change once I do rotations. For the time being however, my heart is drawn towards becoming a GP in a rural area. I have several reasons for this. I like to interact with people on a hands-on basis. While I do like city life, I think the slower pace of life is best and much nicer. There are others but I do not see the point in listing them.
Here's my question.
Why do so few people choose to practice in rural areas? Is it because they are paid lower or because they simply do not like it. Not that I am going into medicine for money but I can understand someone taking a job offer of 200k in the city as opposed to a 90-120k in a rural place.
Basically, I am wondering is there any hidden drawbacks to rural practice and that's why there are so few there.</p>
<p>If you do practice as a GP in a medically underserved area, the National Health Service will help repay your educational loans.</p>
<p>"About the National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program</p>
<p>The National Health Service Corps is a competitive program that recruits fully trained and licensed health professionals to provide primary health services in NHSC community sites in selected Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) identified by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.</p>
<p>In return, the NHSC LRP assists clinicians in their repayment of qualifying educational loans that are still owed."</p>