Scholarships and Loan Repayment Options for Physicians, Physician Assistants, Nurse Practitioners, and Dentists

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Serving the Underserved

The number of medical students going into primary care has been dropping over the past 2 decades. One reason for this move towards specialty medicine is the issue of compensation. Physicians in specialty practice typically make much higher salaries than those in primary care or family medicine. I don't mean to suggest that physicians are greedy, but rather that most have enormous debt to pay off and families to care for. Some physicians that might have otherwise chosen primary care choose to specialize because they don't feel that the salaries are high enough to help them pay off their debt.

One reaction to this decrease in the number of primary care physicians has been the addition of "mid-level" medical professionals, such Physician Assistants and Nurse Practitioners. Unfortunately, even among these medical professionals specialization is becoming more common.

With a shortage of primary clinicians, the first to suffer are the poor (both urban and rural) and the homeless. These populations become medically underserved with fewer and fewer clinicians to turn to.

For those medical professionals who desire to work in primary care (especially with underserved populations) but fear that they cannot afford to, there are scholarship and loan repayment programs to help!

Source: NHSC

NHSC Scholar - Physician Assistant
The blog of an NHSC Scholar (me!) sharing my experiences with the National Health Service Corps from application to job placement. Facts about the NHSC and stories about working with them too.

National Health Service Corps

The National Health Service Corps is a national organization that provides scholarship and loan repayment programs to physicians (MD or DO), dentists, physician assistants, family nurse practitioners, and nurse midwives for serving in medically underserved areas.

The scholarship program accepts applicants each April/May for students beginning school that year or who are already in school. The scholarship pays for all tuition, books, and associated costs (tax-free). It also pays a monthly living stipend (approximately $1200 - taxable). The service obligation is a minimum of 2 years of service (maximum of 4) - with a year of service for every year of school payed for.

The loan repayment program accepts applicants who currently work at an approved site. This program pays $60,000 total towards loans for the initial 2 years of service. $40,000 each year if you do a 3rd or 4th year of service. And $30,000 each year if you serve a 5th or 6th year. These amounts are for full-time service, but there are also half-time service loan repayments available for those who wish to work part-time.

Feel free to browse more information on their website or on my blog as an NHSC scholar.

State Loan Repayment/Forgiveness and Scholarship Programs

Many states also have health loan repayment/forgiveness or scholarship programs for medical professionals willing to work in medically underserved areas. If rural health or urban health interests you, see if your state has a program for you.

The following programs are for physicians, dentists, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurse midwives: