BOISE -- Another round of budget discussions on Capitol Hill highlighted the issue of training doctors in Idaho.
Lawmakers want to know if $1.1 million should continue to go to a Boise program each year that teaches physicians.
Boise's Family Medicine Residency of Idaho is one of the three doctor-training programs in the state.
The director says the national average is one doctor per 2,200 patients, but in much of Idaho it's one doctor per 3,500 patients.
Dr. Ted Epperly says his program can help improve that number, and that's why taxpayer money for it is an investment, not an expense.
Every year, nearly 40 young doctors train at FMRI.
The physicians-in-training are called residents and come from all over the U.S.
Dr. Epperly’s hope is that the imports make Idaho their home.
"By coming here and then getting them into Idaho they can see what those sorts of places are like and they can make determinations between them and their spouse, ‘Is this a place that I would like to settle?’" Dr. Ted Epperly said.
Epperly says now is a more important time than ever to keep the residency program afloat because the state has a shortage of doctors.
"We have almost a perfect storm happening. We have too few physicians, an older work force that is going to be retiring. At the same time the state is growing. And that is why we must invest now in training more residents within the state to keep them in the state,” Dr. Epperly said.
In the three years at FMRI residents do stints at St. Alphonsus and St. Luke’s, but also spend time in rural Idaho.
Dr. Jennifer Holliday is from eastern Oregon. The rural training fits into the young doctor's future plans.
“I've lived in the big cities and I'm happy to be in Boise right now, hoping to go smaller later," Dr. Holliday said.
Second year resident Dr. Tema Jessup feels the same way.
She's already signed a contract to work in rural Idaho after she graduates.
"That is kind of scary for me because it's very rural and so you're kind of out on there on your own and you're kind of required to take care of patients that you may call a specialist on and take care of things acutely. And I feel like this program really trains you for that," Dr. Jessup said.
Dr. Epperly says of the 230 doctors that graduated from FMRI over the last few decades, 129 decided to make Idaho their home.
While Idaho has three doctor training programs, the Gem State does not have any medical schools.
