Nevada invests nearly $16 million to expand GME programs

The Nevada Health Authority recently announced nearly $16 million in Graduate Medical Education (GME) grant awards to expand physician residency and fellowship programs across the state, helping build a stronger health care workforce and improve access to care for Nevadans.

The $15.7 million in funding will support nine residency and fellowship programs in specialties including family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery, pulmonary and critical care medicine, diagnostic radiology, ophthalmology, otolaryngology, and obstetrics and gynecology.

Although the funding is not exclusively focused on cancer care, these specialties are essential across the cancer continuum. Primary care physicians help prevent cancer through screening recommendations and risk reduction counseling, while specialists such as surgeons, radiologists, pulmonologists, and ear, nose, and throat physicians play critical roles in diagnosing and treating many cancers. Expanding these residency programs helps ensure more Nevadans have access to timely, high-quality care close to home.

This investment is particularly important because Nevada continues to face physician shortages. The 2026–2030 Nevada Cancer Plan identifies workforce capacity as a key challenge affecting access to healthcare, and supports workforce development strategies including expanding GME programs.

Nevada has fewer primary care physicians per capita than the national average, with shortages that are especially pronounced in rural and frontier communities.

Graduate Medical Education programs are one of the most effective ways to strengthen the physician workforce. Physicians often choose to practice where they complete their residency training, making these investments an important strategy for increasing the number of providers who remain in Nevada after training.

The funded programs include:

• Carson-Tahoe Health – Family Medicine
• Dignity Health – Internal Medicine
• Dignity Health – Pulmonary & Critical Care Medicine
• University Medical Center of Southern Nevada – Diagnostic Radiology
• UNLV Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine – Ophthalmology
• UNLV Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine – Otolaryngology
• University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine – General Surgery
• University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine – Obstetrics & Gynecology
• University of Nevada, Reno School of Medicine – Pulmonary Disease and Critical Care Medicine