Primary Care Training Sites Program

To qualify for funding, sites must meet the following requirements:

• The primary care clinical training site must offer medical training in primary care to interns, residents, or fellows as part of the clinical training requirements for physicians, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants
• The clinical training program must be affiliated with an accredited institution of higher education for the clinical training of physicians, nurse practitioners, and/or physician assistants
• Offer a collaborative, team-based care environment where students can gain experience working alongside a wide range of clinicians
• The primary care site must be recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) as a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH)
• The primary care practice must provide integrated behavioral health services
• The primary care practice must be physically located in the State of Rhode Island

Grant awards to primary care training sites shall be used to support preceptors and enhance training capacity. 

The maximum grant award for training sites is $90,000 per site, per calendar year. Awards are subject to continued availability of funding on a first-come, first-served basis and will be determined using the following formula:

(Anticipated Enrollment × Per-Pupil Rate) = Grant Amount

• Medical students and residents = $4,500.00 per trainee
• Nurse practitioners and physician assistants = $4,000.00 per trainee

The typical academic year is split into two calendar year periods. Applicants should provide their anticipated enrollment for the two periods of the academic year:

• Period 1 (Semester 1): July 1, 2025 - December 31, 2025
• Period 2 (Semester 2): January 1, 2026 - June 30, 2026

Applicants will use this formula to request their grant amount for each period.

Training sites must select one of the following models to use grant funds:

1. Stipend Model – Preceptors receive a stipend for mentoring trainees without reducing clinical workload.
2. Reduced Clinical Time Model – Preceptors receive dedicated time blocks for training, with funds used to offset reduced clinical workload.
3. Innovative Model – Training sites may utilize alternative strategies for compensating preceptors or enhancing training capacity, tailored to their specific needs and environment. These strategies must align with program objectives and be detailed in the project and budget narrative.

• See the frequently asked questions document for answers to questions received during the application window.

• All submissions received through the electronic application system were reviewed. Applications were evaluated for completeness and alignment with the program’s eligibility requirements. Incomplete or ineligible applications were not considered.
• Applicants were notified of their award status via email within three weeks of the deadline, by May 10, 2025.
• Award finalists had one week from the date of notification to formally accept or decline participation in the program. Those who accepted were required to submit a Certificate of Insurance (COI) as proof of liability coverage before moving forward with the contracting process.
• Once all required materials are received and the contract is fully executed, a Purchase Order (PO) will be issued. No work may begin until the PO is in place. 

Funds provided to training sites must be used to support preceptors and enhance training capacity. Training sites are expected to use these funds to compensate preceptors for their participation in training sessions, learning collaboratives, and other activities required for program implementation.

State budget restrictions prohibit grant funds from covering food, beverages, gift cards, or related expenses. The program expects that all participating sites adhere to their respective project and budget narrative submitted as part of the application.

Sites must implement the Department of Health’s clinical training curriculum. At least one preceptor must be designated to implement the curriculum and attend training sessions.

At minimum awarded participants must:

• Ensure at least one preceptor is trained in the PCMH model curriculum provided by the Department of Health.
• Ensure at least one preceptor participates in Department-organized learning collaboratives.
• Submit progress reports on trainee enrollment, completion, impact, and preceptor satisfaction.

The Department of Health reserves the right to conduct site visits to ensure compliance. Sites may be required to submit reports or additional documentation as needed.

Awarded sites must enter a contract with the Department of Health (RIDOH) and comply with all program requirements and expectations. Full registration with the Ocean State Procures (OSP] system is required to receive a Purchase Order (PO) and begin work.

Once a site joins the PCTSP, it must show proof of student enrollment to receive payment. Enrollment is defined as the point when a site reserves specific training slots for students from an academic program. This reflects the commitment the practices make to offering clinical training opportunities to their academic affiliates.

When submitting invoices to RIDOH, sites must provide proof of student enrollment (as defined above) through documentation that includes:

• The number of reserved slots
• The disciplines of students the site has agreed to accept
• The academic institution(s) sending students to train at the site
• The period that the students are anticipated to commence clinical rotation 

We understand that at the time of reservation, specific student assignments may not yet be available. Therefore, student names and details are not required at this stage. RIDOH will accept agreements between training sites and their affiliated academic institutions reserving slots for students as documentation of enrollment.

Sites can request payment from RIDOH by submitting an invoice based on the number of enrolled students and the established per-pupil rates. Invoices must include enrollment documentation as described above. Funds must be used within the allowed period, with no carryforward. 

Each site should submit invoices for work during the two academic periods:

• Period 1 (Semester 1): July 1, 2025 - December 31, 2025
• Period 2 (Semester 2): January 1, 2026 - June 30, 2026

Sites must submit reports with the following information for each student either upon completion of their rotation or, at a minimum, by the end of the period of performance:

• Full Name
• Personal Email Address
• Discipline (e.g., medical student, resident, nurse practitioner student, or physician assistant student)
• Academic Institution & Program
  • Name of the academic institution or residency program
  • Educational specialty or track (e.g., Brown University, Pediatrics/Internal Medicine)
  • Note: While nurse practitioner and physician assistant students may not have designated specialties during training, provide as much detail as possible about their intended track.
• Year in Program & Estimated Graduation Date (Month/Year)
• Clinical Training Details
  • Duration of training at the site (e.g., "4-week rotation, 4 days per week, 6-hour shifts")
  • Completion status of the clinical rotation (Did the student complete the scheduled training? If not, explain why.)
• Please provide post-training details for each student/resident after completing their rotation at your site:
  • Indicate whether the student entered the workforce, including their specialty and practice location (city/state).
  • Specify if the student/resident pursued additional training, such as a fellowship.
  • Confirm if the student is still enrolled in their course of study and note the remaining duration of their program.

• Primary Care Training Sites Program Preceptor Manual (PDF)

The form contains 3 sections – Section 1: Invoice Details; Section 2: Student Slot Documentation; Section 3: Student Information.

Section 1 - Invoice Details:

• Site name
• Respondent Information – full name, title, phone number, and email address:

• Number of trainees you are currently invoicing for, per discipline:

Section 2 - Student Slot Documentation:

• Adequate documentation reflects the academic institution's intention and agreement to place trainee(s) at the site and the site's acceptance of the trainee(s). This could be in the form of email communication or a formal agreement, and at a minimum must include the discipline, academic institution, and rotation start and end dates.

Section 3 - Student Information:

• Full name, contact information, academic institution, discipline, academic year, rotation start date, rotation end date, assigned preceptor, expected graduation date

For the purposes of invoicing, you only need to provide the name of one preceptor. Select the preceptor the student works with the most. If the student splits their learning equally among multiple preceptors, we only need the name of one of the preceptors per student. 

Personal email refers to a non-academic email that the student will not lose access to upon graduation. A personal email is needed to follow up with trainees after graduation to collect data on the specialty they practice and the state they practice in. This is crucial for evaluating the impact the program has on recruitment and retention in primary care in Rhode Island. 

Monday, April 6, 2026 is the deadline to submit Section 1: Invoice Details and Section 2: Student Slot Documentation of the invoice form for all students who began training on or before April 6, 2026 as well as for all students who have been placed for period 2 training at your site but will begin their rotation after April 6.  

Monday, June 1, 2026 is the deadline to return to any previously submitted electronic invoice form to complete and submit Section 3: Student Information. 

No, you can still invoice for and get paid for period 2 placements after April 6. Only placements that were confirmed prior to April 6 must be invoiced for by the April 6, 2026 deadline. 

Scenario 1: If you have students that begin training after April 6 and you have already submitted the initial invoice and student slot documentation, return to the electronic invoicing form to add the student information any time between April 6, 2026, and June 1, 2026.

Scenario 2: If you have students that begin training after April 6, 2026 and you were not notified about the student placement(s) prior to April 6, 2026 and therefore you did not submit an initial invoice or student slot documentation for these trainee(s), please let us know by emailing us at RIDOH.PrimaryCareTraining@health.ri.gov and we will instruct you on how to submit the invoice.

Yes, it is okay to submit multiple invoices as students are placed at your site. It is expected that you will submit invoices as soon as students are placed and no later than their first day of training at the site. The minimum information needed to submit the invoice is the number of students training per discipline for the given invoice and the student slot documentation. Student information is required to be submitted by Monday, June 1, 2026. The third section on the invoice form is where you will provide the required student information. There is an option to save and return to this student information section. Return to the student information section and submit the required information as soon as you have the student details, and no later than June 1, 2026. The goal is for sites to invoice as slots are filled so payments can be processed on a rolling basis.

Yes, you will receive an automated email confirmation for each section of the electronic invoice form.

Yes, the confirmation email for each section will have a PDF of your responses attached. 

For invoicing purposes, we only require the training window (start and end dates) during which the student was placed at your site. We understand that clinic schedules vary depending on program structure and rotation requirements. In addition, each site’s total award amount was determined based on the anticipated enrollment provided in your application, not on the number of days per week a student is onsite. This approach provides flexibility while keeping funding predictable and consistent.

No, sites do not split the per-student funding amount if a student splits a rotation across multiple sites. When a student trains at multiple sites, each site should invoice at the full rate (e.g., $4,500 for medical students or $4,000 for NP/PA students) for the portion of training that occurred at their location for all students, provided the site remains within its total award amount. 

Yes. If a student is required to train in two separate specialties and completes their training for both specialties at your site, you may invoice for this student twice and provide the relevant supporting documentation. 

For example, a student completing a dual-specialty rotation in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics is eligible to be invoiced under each specialty. This reflects distinct clinical training experiences and is similar to how students receive credit for different required courses within the same academic term.

1. Notify Samuel Ogundare at RIDOH.PrimaryCareTraining@health.ri.gov as soon as possible.
2. Conduct efforts to fill the training slot with another trainee - utilize the directory to notify academic institutions about the available training slot
3. Follow up with Samuel Ogundare at RIDOH.PrimaryCareTraining@health.ri.gov to report the outcome of efforts to fill the training slot (i.e. report back on whether you were able to fill the slot) by the rotation start date provided on the invoice.
   1. If a student does not end up training at your site after you have submitted an invoice, we will work with you to correct the record and adjust the reimbursement as needed. This helps ensure accurate program reporting and compliance with State financial requirements.

Yes. Eligibility is based on the type of training, not the degree level. DNP students are eligible if they are enrolled in an NP track (such as Family NP or Adult-Gerontology NP) and are completing a formal, required clinical rotation as part of their graduate curriculum at your site. Shadowing, mentoring, or employment-based supervision that is not part of a required academic rotation is not eligible for reimbursement. For the purposes of invoicing, please select NP Student for the discipline. 

If total reimbursement does not exceed your site’s remaining contract balance, you can invoice for these additional students. Your total contract amount was calculated based on your anticipated enrollment provided on the application. If additional students would cause your site to exceed its contract amount, those students would not be eligible for reimbursement.

If you have questions about your remaining contract balance or invoicing for additional students, please reach out to Samuel Ogundare at RIDOH.PrimaryCareTraining@health.ri.gov who can provide additional information and recommendations. 

The program was funded from July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026 through the State legislative budget process. In order to continue the program for an additional academic year, funding is required. We are exploring potential funding opportunities for the program. Given the nationwide uncertainty with public health funding, we are not able to provide an exact date for when we will know if the program will be renewed for an additional academic year. We will provide all information as it becomes available.