(Radio Iowa) – The University of Iowa is asking lawmakers to provide three-point-six MILLION dollars to recruit and support rural students interested in a career in health care. Barbara Wilson, the University of Iowa’s president, made the pitch during a recent budget hearing at the statehouse.

“We know that there are health care deserts around the state and our goal is to double the number of students who are interested in rural health care,” Wilson said. Federal data indicates there are more than 360 health professional shortage areas in Iowa and most of those are in rural parts of the state. Some of the new state funding would be used to provide scholarships to University of Iowa medical students who plan to work in rural Iowa after they graduate.

“Other states are doing this,” Wilson said. “It’s a competitive market, so the more we can do this, the more we can keep these bright young people here.” Wilson says another portion of the money would be focused on the training period after a doctor has graduated from medical school by creating more medical residencies in rural Iowa.  “It turns out the number one predictor for whether a medical student or a doctor will stay in the state is where is their residency,” Wilson said. “It’s not where they came from, it’s not where they went to medical school, it’s where is their residency? Residencies are costly, but they ensure that once you dig in for one or two years, all of a sudden you’re going to love that community and you’re going to want to stay.”

Fewer than nine percent of U-S physicians practice in rural areas.