This week’s guest is Davis Patterson, PhD. Davis is a sociologist and a research assistant professor in the University of Washington Department of Family Medicine in Seattle, Washington. He is Director of the Collaborative for Rural Primary Care Research, Education, and Practice (Rural PREP), Deputy Director of the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center, and an investigator in the UW Center for Health Workforce Studies. Dr. Patterson’s research and evaluation activities seek to inform policy and improve rural and underserved populations’ access to healthcare, with a particular focus on the health workforce.
“Our work really gives leaders at all levels, local, state, federal, the information they need to advocate for change.”
His current research includes studies examining the commitment of health professions schools to produce rural practitioners, graduate medical education for rural practice, rural emergency medical services, workforce solutions to ensure patient access to oral health care, and factors affecting provision of home health services to rural patients.
He is a member of the advisory committee of AcademyHealth’s Health Workforce Interest Group and the Joint Committee on Rural Emergency Care (of the National Association of State EMS Officials and the National Organization of State Offices of Rural Health). He is an avid traveler and fluent in Spanish.