Scholarships & Loan Repayment

The family medicine specialty is in high demand throughout the country. Communities, hospitals, managed care organizations, and physician groups are all actively recruiting graduates of family medicine residency programs. Recognizing the demand for primary care physicians, the following scholarship and loan repayment programs offer incentives for physicians who choose to practice in underserved areas:

• Loan Repayment Program
  Selected participants may earn up to $50,000 toward student loans in exchange for a two-year commitment at an NHSC-approved site through the NHSC Loan Repayment Program (NHSC LRP). The amount received and length of the commitment depends on where you serve (service at sites in higher-need areas yields greater loan repayments) and whether you select the full-time or part-time option.
• Substance Use Disorder Workforce Loan Repayment Program
  Selected participants may earn up to $75,000 toward student loans in exchange for a three-year commitment at an NHSC-approved substance use disorder site with a HPSA score that would ordinarily be too low to qualify for NHSC funding.
• Rural Community Loan Repayment Program
  Selected participants may earn up to $100,000 toward student loans in exchange for a three-year commitment at any rural, NHSC-approved substance sue disorder site with a HPSA score that would ordinarily be too low to qualify for NHSC funding.
• Students to Service Loan Repayment Program (S2S LRP)
  The S2S LRP provides up to $120,000 to medical students (MD and DO) in their final year of school in return for a commitment to provide primary health care full-time for at least three years at an approved NHSC site in a HPSA of greatest need.
• Scholarship Program
  The scholarship pays tuition, fees, other education costs, and provides a living stipend in return for a commitment to work at least two years at an NHSC-approved site in a medically underserved community. Any student enrolled in an accredited U.S. medical school who is committed to primary care can apply.

State of Ohio Physician Loan Repayment Program
The goal of the Ohio Physician Loan Repayment Program (OPLRP) is to increase access to primary care for underserved communities and populations. In exchange for loan repayment assistance, physicians commit to practice for a minimum of two years at an eligible site in a Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) or Health Resource Shortage Area, accept Medicare and Medicaid, and see patients regardless of ability to pay.

For the first two-year contract, selected full-time applicants practicing a minimum of 40 hours per week may receive up to $25,000 annually for repayment of outstanding medical school debt. Those who remain at their practice sites and maintain eligibility may receive up to $35,000 annually for a third and fourth year of service. Part-time participants practicing between 20 and 39 hours per week may receive up to half the amount of full-time participants.

Other Resources

The American Academy of Family Physicians offers an online debt management resource to help you develop a plan to finance medical school, identify specific strategies for covering those costs, and creating an annual budget timeline for reassessing those costs. This information will provide you with practical tools to better understand the issues and sources of aid as you apply to medical school.