The Underserved in the CRNA Personal Statement

It is important to highlight your commitment to serving the underserved population in your personal statement. You can discuss how your experiences working with underserved communities have shaped your perspective on healthcare and how you plan to use your education to make a difference in their lives. You can also talk about how you plan to use your skills and knowledge to address healthcare disparities and improve access to care for all patients.

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According to the Health Resources & Service Administration (HRSA), medically underserved areas/populations (MUA/P) are areas or populations designated as having too few primary care providers, high infant mortality, high poverty, or a high elderly population. The HRSA provides a cornucopia of information about health shortages in the United States. Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) are used to identify areas, population groups, or facilities within the United States that are experiencing a shortage of health care professionals.

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The HRSA keeps an updated list of medical shortage areas by state on its website. As of October 28, 2020, there were approximately 3,438 designated MUA/Ps in the US. California had the largest number of MUA/Ps with 214, followed by Texas with 204 and Illinois with 1761. It is important to note that the greatest disparities in health are experienced by marginalized communities, communities of color, and low-income populations2. The American Academy of Family Physicians Physicians (AAFP) recognizes this and has taken steps to address this issue.

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The HRSA determines if an area is medically underserved by using the Index of Medical Underservice (IMU) score. The IMU score is calculated based on the following factors: the ratio of primary care physicians per 1,000 population, infant mortality rate, percentage of the population below the federal poverty level, and percentage of the population aged 65 or older.

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An area or population with an IMU score of 62.0 or below qualifies for designation as a medically underserved area/population (MUA/P). The HRSA provides a tool called MUA Find that allows users to search for MUA/P designations throughout the US by location or MUA ID. The tool also provides information on MUA/P status, type, and rural status. The HRSA has taken several steps to address medical shortages in underserved areas. It has awarded nearly $55 million to 29 HRSA-funded health centers to increase health care access and quality for underserved populations through virtual care such as telehealth, remote patient monitoring, digital patient tools, and health information technology platforms.

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HRSA also provides funding for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC), which is a program that places primary care providers in underserved areas. The NHSC provides scholarships and loan repayment programs to health care providers who agree to work in underserved areas for a certain period of time.

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In addition, HRSA has established the Shortage Designation Branch (SDB) which is responsible for designating medically underserved areas/populations (MUA/Ps) and health professional shortage areas (HPSAs). The SDB provides a tool called MUA Find that allows users to search for MUA/P designations throughout the US by location or MUA ID. The tool also provides information on MUA/P status, type, and rural status.

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You can use the MUA Find tool provided by the HRSA) to find out if your area is designated as a medically underserved area/population (MUA/P) 1. The tool allows you to search for MUA/P designations throughout the US by location or MUA ID. It also provides information on MUA/P status, type, and rural status. To use the tool, you need to select a state/territory and county from the drop-down menus. You can also filter the results by MUA/P status, type, and rural status.

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The HRSA uses two types of shortage designations to identify areas, population groups, or facilities within the United States that are experiencing a shortage of health care professionals: Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs) and Medically Underserved Areas/Populations (MUA/Ps).

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HPSAs are geographic areas, population groups, or facilities within the United States that are experiencing a shortage of health care professionals. HPSAs are further divided into two categories: geographic HPSAs and population HPSAs. Geographic HPSAs have a shortage of services for the entire population within an established geographic area. Population HPSAs have a shortage of services for a specific population subset within an established geographic area. On the other hand, MUA/Ps are areas or populations designated as having too few primary care providers, high infant mortality, high poverty, or a high elderly population. The HRSA uses the Index of Medical Underservice (IMU) score to determine if an area or population qualifies for designation as an MUA/P. An area or population with an IMU score of 62.0 or below qualifies for designation as an MUA/P.