To bolster primary care workforce, R.I. offers grants to train next generation of doctors
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The nation's number of primary care providers has declined in recent years, as has the number of new physicians entering primary care, according to the Milbank Memorial Fund's 2025
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In 2022, only 24.4 percent of new doctors began careers in primary care in the United States – or 19.8 percent when excluding hospitalists – the lowest rate in a decade. The decline in 2022 marked a steeper decline, year over year, compared to prior years.
'Right now, Rhode Island is on track to be short about 100 primary care providers by 2030. That's a shortage large enough to mean 1 in 5 Rhode Islanders will be unable to find a primary care provider,' state Senator, Pamela J. Lauria, a Barrington Democrat, said in a statement. 'As a state, we must recruit, train, retain, and sustain the number of primary care providers necessary to meet the health demands of all Rhode Islanders.'
According to officials, the grant program will expand 'interdisciplinary clinical training at advanced primary care sites' with an aim to boost the state's training capacity by 50 percent for physician assistant students, physician residents, and nurse practitioners.
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Right now, the Care Transformation Collaborative of Rhode Island is working to develop the curriculum that will be used to train students, officials said.
'The Primary Care Training Sites Program is one of many steps we are taking across our administration to bolster primary care in Rhode Island,' Governor Dan McKee said in a statement. 'Accessible, quality primary care can lower rates of chronic conditions, lessen the burden on our hospital system, and bring down Rhode Island's overall healthcare costs in line with the goals of our RI 2030 plan.'
McKee is eyeing other measures to help bolster the state's primary care network through his budget proposal, including measures officials said will serve as 'a crucial step toward fostering a more competitive primary care job market in Rhode Island.'
Last month, the Rhode Island Senate also
Material from a previous Globe story was used in this report.
Christopher Gavin can be reached at
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