Primary Care Residency Grant

Grants to Minnesota programs and sponsors of medical residency positions to expand residencies and training opportunities for physicians. Funding is intended to support the creation of new programs, the enhancement of existing ones, and the training of residents in new positions. The purpose of the program is to increase the number of primary care physicians practicing in geriatrics, general pediatrics, family medicine, general surgery, psychiatry, and general internal medicine.

Minnesota Statutes Section 144.1506 was enacted to address, in part, the medical residency shortage by awarding grants to support new Primary Care Residency positions/slots, or new Primary Care Residency programs. This grant program assists existing or proposed Primary Care Residency programs in Minnesota by funding costs associated with creating new residency programs, and training eligible residents in newly created slots.

The Primary Care Residency Grant program will serve all Minnesotans in need of health care by ensuring the state is increasing the number of primary care physicians in each of the eligible primary care provider fields recognized in Minnesota Statutes Section 144.1506 (listed above).

Grant outcomes will include:

• Sustainability of Minnesota’s pool of primary care physicians resulting from the creation of new primary care residency slots and primary care residency programs that, once created, are required to be maintained throughout the entire three-year grant period and beyond.
• Introducing primary care physicians to underserved populations while in residency, thereby fostering their interest in, and commitment to serving those most in need. 

Priority will be given to applications that clearly define and address how their program will focus on creating or expanding residency slots in the primary care residency fields listed above, and expanding the number of residency positions in rural Minnesota.

Note: Primary Care Residency Programs are invited, but not required, to support residency training for immigrant international Medical Graduates through the Primary Care Residency Grant Program. Immigrant International Medical Graduates (IIMG) reside in Minnesota for at least two years, and are certified by the Educational Commission for Foreign Medical Graduates (ECFMG) and are committed to providing primary care in a rural or underserved area in Minnesota post residency.

How applicants propose to use grant funds to address health equity will factor into the competitive grant selection.

Grant funds may be used for:

• Planning related to establishing an accredited primary care residency program;
• Obtaining accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or another national body that accredits residency programs;
• Recruitment, training and retention of new primary care residents;
• Travel and lodging for new primary care residents;
• Salary and fringe of new primary care residents, as well as faculty and preceptors related to training new primary care residents;
• Training site improvements, fees, equipment, and supplies required for new primary care residents; and/or
• Support for clinical education in which primary care residents are part of a primary care team model.