Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program (WRPRAP)

Upcoming Grant Application Deadline:

February 12, 2024

Grant renewal applications are encouraged for submission in September.

Accepting funding requests for Rural Rotations* on an ongoing basis, pending available funding.
*Rural Rotations: at least 8-weeks of continuous or cumulative training, and funding can only be used for supporting operational costs of the rural rotation. Refer to Rural GME Operational Grants for more information.

Wisconsin Rural Physician Residency Assistance Program (WRPRAP) promotes collaboration among Wisconsin health systems, residency and fellowship programs and state agencies that aim to enhance rural graduate medical education (GME) and make rural Wisconsin a healthier place to live, work and play.

WRPRAP funding opportunities target and prioritize educational activities for new physicians in rural Wisconsin communities, with the goal of training more physicians to meet Wisconsin’s rural workforce needs.

In order to provide technical assistance to our rural communities, WRPRAP helped establish and continues to work with and fund the Wisconsin Collaborative for Rural GME (WCRGME). WRPRAP and WCRGME are available to provide information and resources to organizations interested in initiating or continuously improving Wisconsin GME programs and tracks with a rural focus.

Grant Types*

Rural GME Operational Grants »
The Rural GME Operational Fund supports quality improvement and continuation of current rural GME programs. Activities may include rural rotations, curriculum development, technical assistance for rural residency programs, and more.

Rural GME Transformational Grants »
The Rural GME Transformational Fund supports innovation and planning for future rural GME initiatives. These activities may include developing a new rural residency program, developing a new rural track to enhance an urban residency program, and other pilot studies associated with rural GME training positions in eligible residency program specialties.

*In 2014 the Health and Medicine Division (previously the Institute of Medicine) of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine published a report on Graduate Medical Education That Meets the Nation’s Health Needs. This report recommends the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) create one GME fund with two subsidiary funds. WRPRAP adopted HMD’s recommendation to distribute its primary Rural GME Fund into these subsidiary funds, titled and outlined as Rural GME Operational Fund and Rural GME Transformational Fund.

Grant Recipients

Examples of Current and Previous Grant Projects

• ACGME and AOA accredited new rural residency programs
• Rural track within urban residency program
• 8-week rural rotations
• Emergency Medicine Fellowship
• Simulation curriculum
• Women’s health curriculum and ultrasound training for residents

Contact WRPRAP@fammed.wisc.edu with questions or intent to apply for funding.

Read our most recent 2022 WRPRAP Annual Report.