In the late 1960's and early 1970's, attracting physicians to areas of rural Alabama was virtually impossible because of the lack of professional health care workers available to become part of the necessary health care team. To address this problem, the University of Alabama (UA) adopted a plan to create a consortium of higher education institutions throughout Alabama for the training of allied health care workers. In 1970, a formal agreement was signed between the State Board of Education, which is the governing body of Alabama's public two-year colleges, and UA, linking the two-year institutions with the Regional Technical Institute located at the UA campus. Under the agreement, interested and qualified students attend the two-year college in their area of the state to complete prerequisite courses for 1 year, and then attend UA's Medical Center for 1 year to complete training in a specific health care field. The final component of the training involves full-time employment at a clinical site, often in the student's home area. Program graduates receive a certificate from UA and an associate degree from their two-year institution. A survey of 1990 program graduates, which produced a 45% response rate, revealed the following: 93% were employed in their health care field; 59% returned to their home areas for employment; and 46% were employed at their former clinical site. These results of the 1990 survey are consistent with results since 1983, the first year of the survey. Other areas receiving special attention of the consortium council, include initiating efforts to improve communication between employers and educators in the health care field, and active recruitment of minority students. (PAA)