National Health Service Corps

Scholarship and Loan Repayment

Program

The National Health Service Corps

Scholarship and Loan Repayment

Program is a federal program

administered through the Health

Resources and Services Administration’s

Bureau of Health Professions

The National Health Service Corps Program

is committed to expanding access to

health care in America’s underserved

communities – in rural and inner-city

areas where economic, geographic, and

cultural barriers prevent people from

seeking and receiving the health care

they deserve.

National Health Service Corps Scholarship Program

The NHSC recruits primary health care students who

are U.S. citizens enrolled or accepted for

enrollment in a fully accredited U.S.:

• Allopathic or Osteopathic School

• Dental School

• Family Nurse Practitioner Program (master’s

degree in nursing, post master’s, or post

baccalaureate certificate

• Nurse-Midwifery Program (master’s degree in

nursing, post-master’s, or post-baccalaureate

certificate)

• Physician Assistant Program (certificate,

associate, baccalaureate, or master’s program)

Medical students participating in the NHSC

Scholarship Program must complete their

residency programs in one of the following

specialties:

• Family Medicine

• General Pediatrics

• General Internal Medicine

• Obstetrics/Gynecology

• Psychiatry

• Rotating Internship (for D.O.s only) with request

to complete training in one of the specialties

above

• Dental Scholars may complete residencies in

general practice or pediatric dentistry

National Health Service Corps Scholars begin serving their commitment upon completion of their training or residency.

Scholars choose their practice site from a NHSC-provided list of rural and urban communities where the health care needs are the greatest.

The commitment requires full-time clinical primary health care practice for 1 year for each full or partial year of scholarship support, with a 2-year minimum.

The scholarship covers:

• Tax-free payment of tuition and fees for up to 4 years of

education.

• Twelve monthly stipend payments per year of

scholarship support. Stipend payments are taxed.

• Payment of other reasonable educational expenses

such as books, supplies, and equipment.

National Health Service Corps is currently recruiting the following primary care clinicians or primary care disciplines that are eligible to apply for NHSC Loan Repayment:

• Allopathic or Osteopathic Physicians (specializing in

Family Medicine, General Pediatrics, General Internal

Medicine, Obstetrics/Gynecology or General Psychiatry

• Primary Care Nurse Practitioners

• Primary Care Physician Assistants

• Certified Nurse-Midwives

• Dentists

• Dental Hygienists

• Mental or Behavioral Health Professionals

(Clinical or Counseling Psychologist, Clinical Social

Worker, Licensed Professional Counselor, Marriage

and Family Therapist, or Psychiatric Nurse Specialist)

National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program

The NHSC Loan Repayment Program repays up to $50,000 of qualifying educational loans in exchange for a 2-year service commitment in a health professional shortage area of greatest need.

Opportunities to continue loan repayment beyond 2 years, on an annual basis, may also be available.

In addition to being a fully trained health professional in a discipline or specialty for which NHSC is recruiting, the professional must:

• Commit to providing primary care service in a health professional shortage area of greatest need for a minimum of two years.

• Serve full time (40 hours per week) in a clinical practice of their profession

• Be a U.S. citizen with a valid, unrestricted health care license or certificate for the State where they plan to practice

• Be free of judgment liens arising from Federal debt

• Have no other existing service commitment

To qualify for NHSC assistance, the site the scholar or loan repayment recipient practices at must:

• Be located in a federally designated health professional shortage area

• Serve high-need populations in a rural or urban area

• Accept Medicaid/Medicare assignments• Maintain a discounted fee schedule that

assures there is no financial barrier to care for those who are at or below 200 percent of the federally designated poverty level

• Function as part of a system of care that assures access to the full continuum of services (referral and hospitalization)

• Be a health facility that maintains full-time practice hours

Visit National Health Service Corps on the Web at

http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov/