Safeguarding medical care in rural areas is currently posing growing challenges to healthcare systems around the world, including smaller and relatively densely populated countries. Ever-growing problems in maintaining a sufficient level of nationwide medical care, particularly in rural, remote and structurally weak areas, challenge many countries around the world. This review shows that adequate curriculum interventions in undergraduate medical training has the potential to enhance recruitment and retention of physicians in rural areas, regardless of the country. Medical education outside larger cities and highly specialised university hospitals familiarising students with special features of rural practice, is promising to promote graduates to take up rural practice, particularly among rural-entry students. In addition, more intensive, mandatory contact with healthcare outside larger cities and metropolitan areas can contribute to the overall upgrade of general practice and family medicine, and especially rural medicine.
