Primary care providers treat patients of many ages with a variety of health problems. Sometimes called “family doctors,” physicians who have typically filled this role are aging and many of their younger counterparts aren’t willing to fill their shoes. Over the next decade, one out of every three physicians will retire, and by 2020, the physician shortage is estimated to be between 24,000 and 200,000. Adding to the problem is the surge of Americans who have entered the health care system with the introduction of the Affordable Care Act. Google Images While staffing challenges exist across the board, rural primary care is facing an extraordinary struggle. Many physicians are less…