NASHVILLE – Ascension Saint Thomas and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center are addressing the shortage of physicians in rural communities with the pilot of Middle Tennessee’s first rural track for family medicine residents. 

According to the Association of American Medical Colleges, twenty percent of Americans live in rural areas but only eleven percent of doctors serve these communities. This gap is projected to grow as many physicians in rural settings retire over the next decade. 

Cheatham County native Dr. Thomas Atkins, a graduate of Vanderbilt University and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Medicine, has been selected as the program’s inaugural rural track resident. Dr. Atkins is a first-generation college graduate and is passionate about serving communities like his hometown of Pleasant View. 

Dr. Thomas Atkins

“Growing up, we didn’t have convenient access to healthcare. My parents and our neighbors had to choose between driving out of town to see a doctor and missing a day of pay or just dealing with being sick so that they wouldn’t lose pay,” said Dr. Thomas Atkins, resident, University of Tennessee Health Science Center - Nashville. “Preventable diseases are often caught later in rural communities than in bigger cities, where people have more convenient access to screenings. I want to help change this dynamic so that geography doesn’t limit access to life-saving screenings and care.” 

Over the next three years, Dr. Atkins will train with Ascension Saint Thomas physicians in inpatient and outpatient settings across Middle Tennessee. Much of his training will take place in the rural setting of McMinnville at Ascension Saint Thomas River Park. 

“Ascension Saint Thomas and the University of Tennessee Health Science Center are excited to have received approval from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to pilot this much-needed program,” said Dr. Christopher Dunlap, Family Medicine Residency program director, University of Tennessee Health Science Center - Nashville. “We have found the ideal candidate in Dr. Thomas Atkins and are honored to see how he flourishes as a resident and goes on to serve others.”