When you compare the population of rural counties to the amount of doctors, the numbers are shocking. According to the American Medical Association in Muscatine County there are more than 42-thousand residents, compared to only 36 doctors. In Whiteside County, there 81 physicians for 60-thousand people.

To recruit doctors, hospitals show every applicant the benefits of living in a small community. But that's not necessarily enough."the volume of this hospital is about 18-thousand patients we see in a year in this clinic," says Dr. Duncan Dinka, Medical Director of Morrison Family Care Clinic.

At the clinic physicians work long hours to see all those patients. Treating thousands is demanding, and some say there's just not enough of them. Dr. Dinka adds, "Absolutely not, absolutely not. And that's why for the area, for this area I don't think a rural area just like Morrison itself needs more."

Doctor Dinkha commutes from chicago a few days a week to make sure everyone who needs care gets it. He's apart of a group called acute physicians. The hospital, who runs the clinic, has a contract with the group to stay fully staffed. There's also doctors who work here full time. "It's a challenge of course, because we're a rural community. We try to focus on our school systems and what the community has to offer," says Pam Pfister, Associate Administrator of Morrison Community Hospital.

One of the biggest selling points, the low cost of living and other financial benefits. Pfister adds, "The national health service corporation, they offer reimbursement for education expenses and that's up to 50-thousand a year. We've actually had providers that have captured that benefit."

BUt even with incentives, many still turn away from rural medicine. According to the Department of Health and Human Services, there were only 55 primary care physicians per 100,000 residents in rural areas in 2005. Compared with 72 per 100,000 in urban areas. The result, nearly 50 million rural americans lack access to a primary care provider because of shortages in their communities. And one of the big reasons why doctors stay away from rural area, money. "The compensation for physicians has a tendency to be lower for rural physicians and in primary care," according to Dr. Travis Figanbaum with Mercer County Medical Associates Clinic.

Lifestyle is another big issue. Many doctors feel working in a rural community isn't for them. Especially, because working in a small area requires doctors to keep up with the latest training. Not all small hospitals have the same technology larger facilities have. But some say that's changing. According to Dr. Julio Santiago with Mercer Co. Medical Associates Clinic, "With the advent of the internet where we can access tons of information to help our patients, we can access other specialists also to help our patients."

Now, both the hospital we spoke to,

Mercer County and Morrison do have enough doctors. They say they've been lucky, because they're enough physicians willing to move to the area.