"I was Where I Needed to be": The Rural Health Care Workforce Experience During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

More information is needed on how to recruit and retain rural health professionals, especially during times of crisis. In this article, we explore the experiences of rural health professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with physicians, advanced practice providers, nurses, and allied health professionals in the state of Minnesota from 2023 to 2024 (n = 17) and used iterative thematic analysis to identify key themes. Two key themes emerged from our analysis as challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic: staffing shortages and the politicization of trust. Respondents also expressed satisfaction with rural life due to ease of social distancing and a strong sense of responsibility to their community. Despite the challenges presented by the COVID-19 pandemic for rural health professionals, respondents felt strongly about remaining in and serving their communities.