You may have many questions about the Idaho Rural Track. Here we answer as many of them as possible. Please contact us if you still have questions. 

Program Beginnings

The idea of training psychiatrists in Southeast Idaho was conceived by Dr. Rex Force, the Vice President of Health Sciences for Idaho State University. He envisioned a rural psychiatry track in Pocatello, Idaho, which would be associated with both ISU and the University of Utah. Dr. Ted Epperly, MD, collaborated with the Idaho State Board of Education to incorporate the proposed Rural Idaho Track into a comprehensive 10-Year Idaho State Graduate Medical Education (GME) Plan. This plan included various residency programs. Early efforts to advance the program involved contributions from Dr. Bartel from the University of Utah and Drs. Dewey and Hatzenbuehler from Idaho State University (ISU).

Development Team

Creating the Rural Idaho Track required significant collaboration from both the Idaho and Utah teams. The Idaho team was led by Dr. Jonathan Cree, a former family practice training director, and included his team members, Dr. Erwin, Dr. Ravsten, Brian Hickenlooper, and Rose Johnson. On the Utah side, the team was led by Dr. Gray, Vice-Chair of Training and Education, and Dr. Beth Botts, the first Idaho-Track training director. The Utah team also comprised Glenda Evans, Geoff Erickson, and several previous psychiatry residents who were eager to contribute, including Drs. Morris, McCoy, and Jenkins. Additional support came from Dr. Carlson, the training director for general psychiatry, and Jaime Christensen, the program manager for Utah’s psychiatry training programs. Dr. Ben Chan, the University of Utah Dean of Idaho Affairs, Dr. Brad Poss, the Dean of Graduate Medical Education, and Sharee Bracken, Director of GME at the University of Utah, were also instrumental in the program’s development. Legal teams from both institutions provided further assistance.

GME/ACGME Approval Process

The application for a "resident complement increase," which was necessary for accommodating the Idaho-Track’s expansion, was approved by the University of Utah GME Committee on August 5th, 2019. Subsequently, the Psychiatry Residency Review Committee (RRC) of the ACGME granted official approval for the expansion on September 12th, 2019. The American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) was consulted, and the resident expansion was reviewed and discussed.

Program Funding

Funding for the program was secured through several sources. In 2018, the Idaho State Legislature allocated $60,000 per Idaho-Track resident per year to the University of Utah. Additionally, starting in 2017, the Idaho Legislature provided Idaho State University with $250,000 annually to support the Idaho-Track Associate Training Director and other administrative costs. Dr. Cannon, the George E. Wahlen VA Associate Chief of Staff for Academic Affiliations, assisted the Idaho-Track Education Team in applying for a federal VACAA grant. The Idaho-Track was awarded this grant in 2019, which covers all VA rotations for Idaho-Track residents at both the Salt Lake City and Pocatello VA CBOC Clinic. Furthermore, hospitals and clinics in Idaho are contributing to the program’s funding. The implementation team is also working with various foundations and philanthropists’ interest in supporting the program. 

Results

The recruitment for the first class of Idaho-Track residents took place during the 2019-2020 interview season, with the inaugural class beginning their training on June 24, 2020. The first Rural Idaho Track residents graduated in June of 2024.