See also Wisconsin and national document RURAL TRAINING IN FAMILY MEDICINE
Basically the choice between RTT and other small programs and a larger FP program is a choice of what and who you want to influence you. It is likely that if you are considering an RTT then you have already chosen rural practice. The biggest question therefore, is what a small program is like.
Actually this is a simple question with a simple answer. The smaller RTT programs involve only a few faculty, usually the director of the program is the primary contact. The simple answer is found when you get to know the director of the program. Is this a person who has experience in rural practice? Does he or she practice the kind of medicine that you see yourself practicing? The style, the procedures, the interactions with patients and the community.
If the answer is yes, then choose the program.
If the answer is unknown, then get to know the director.
If the answer is no, look at other RTT programs and get to know the director.
Strolling through the match and advice from other students no longer applies to you. Basically it is a trust factor. Does this person look like a good mentor for me for the final years of training?
The odds are in your favor. Most directors know about rural practice. Students spending 9 months with rural physicians in Minnesota in their 3rd year caught and passed their medical student peers in 23 cognitive, behavioral, and procedural measures.
Chances are that you have never had a mentor, at least not one for 2 or 3 years. Find a good one and then hang on for the educational experience of a lifetime.
A rural practitioner teaching at the Spokane RTT described medical schools as many little birds feeding off of a single faculty member. RTT programs are the opposite. One little learning bird is being served by several faculty members. These preceptor/faculty are the ones who share your values about service and practice. Who better to learn from?