Published 2026-01-18

According to VA News, the Department of Veterans Affairs is expanding specialized training programs to increase women’s health expertise within rural communities. This initiative addresses the growing number of women Veterans - now exceeding one million - who are choosing VA for their healthcare needs, a 38% increase since 2017. The demand for primary care teams skilled in women’s health is particularly high in rural areas, where over one in four women Veterans receive care.

The program, a partnership between VHA’s Office of Women’s Health and Office of Rural Health, is the Rural Women’s Health Mini-Residency for Primary Care Providers and Nurses. It combines online learning modules with hands-on training delivered directly to rural VA clinics by a mobile team. The curriculum covers areas like contraception, breast issues, and post-deployment care, and emphasizes safe, respectful, and trauma-informed approaches to exams.

Since its launch in 2018, the program has delivered 275 trainings to 2,170 VA primary care providers and nurses across 409 clinical sites, with engagement from 71 VA Healthcare Systems. The percentage of trained providers designated as Women’s Health Primary Care Providers nearly doubled between 2018 and 2024, rising from 42% to 77%.