Hi, guys,
I am still taking prereq’s right now, but feel determined that I want to be a doctor, I am tired of being just the physical therapist and I feel I could do a lot more.
Anyway, the debt scares me. Is there an age limit for National Health Service Corps?
I don’t mind working in “underserved neighborhoods”. I have before as a therapist and I usually enjoy it. (I work in well-to-do Philly now and I love working with the surgeons, but the patients are a pain and their sense of entitlement are a in the butt!) The only place I wouldn’t want to serve is a prison.
Do they assign your place after residency or do you choose from the available places?
It looks like they have a program in which they will pay tuition, books, and pay a small stipend.
Does anyone know about these programs?
I have no clue about the age limit thing but you are right in thatit sounds really good. I, too wish to serve in an underserved area. Also look into a program (I forget what it’s called) at Jefferson College of Medicine.
I don’t know much about NHSC but I can tell you emphatically that there isn’t an age limit; my “big sister” at GWU in the class ahead of me had an NHSC scholarship and she was 54.
There are lots of ins and outs to NHSC scholarships and hopefully someone on here will know more about it. I can only answer the age question. 
Mary
moving to pre-med discussion forum…
Hey, you guys are giving me hope!
Sorry, about the misworded post, I was tired when I wrote that.
I think the only real drawback of NHSC is the requirement to go into a primary care specialty. Even though I think I will end up in primary care, I am glad to have the option to do whatever I am drawn to. Many of the people in my med school class had all kinds of ideas about their future, which changed radically once third year started. If you decide that orthopaedic surgery is your thing, for example, that is not going to be a possibility with NHSC.
There is also the issue of being sent to a place where your spouse/SO does not want to go, which can certainly happen.
meowmix is right. It’s only for PC and no EM does not count…I already asked and tried to make a case for it. 
My friend did this. He’s in residency now. The thing you could also do is decide to become a Public Health Service officer. This will have you basically following the military payscale and benefits without the deployments. It’s not a bad deal. You could do your 20 years and retire with a pension.
If you choose the underserved route that isn’t to say you will be on an Indian reservation in New Mexico. There are underserved areas in DC, so major cities are not out of the question. There is no guarantee you will go where you want.
As OMD said there is a price to “free” money. If you are willing to pay the price then it’s a good deal. If you’re not then don’t take the money because it will make you miserable.
The NHSC is a great deal if you are 110% sure that you want to do primary care. If there is even a tiny bit of doubt in your mind that you might find something else you like during medical school, then DON’T apply for or accept the NHSC scholarship. According to the NHSC’s FAQ section, if you accept the scholarship and then later decide not to fulfill your obligation, you are liable for 3x the amount awarded plus interest. So, say you borrow an average debt for a graduating medical student of $125,000 . . . you decide during your 4th year that you want to apply to a specialty that doesn’t qualify under the NHSC. You would have to repay them $375,000 PLUS interest. Most private lenders will loan you this, but you have dramatically increased your debt burden. I have seen posts from a couple people on SDN who accepted the NHSC money and then later changed their mind about doing primary care. They do indeed charge you a ridiculous amount of money to get out of your obligation.
Some other options that you might consider . . . many underserved areas will offer loan repayment options for you. I have seen advertisements for small towns who are desperate to replace a retiring family doc who will often repay your loans (x amount per year for each year you work there), offer housing or a housing stiped and other perks. It took a neighboring town over a year to find a family doc to replace their beloved retiring one, even with such incentives.
Again, make VERY sure that PC is what you want to do before signing on the line with the NHSC.
Crooz - there are a few STATES that consider EM a PC specialty. I don’t know if there is any concise listing anywhere, but I do recall a discussion on SDN awhile ago about it - I believe Oklahoma is one of those states. I also don’t remember if the designation in those states of EM as a PC specialty went along with any financial incentives or not.
There’s also a program, I think it’s administered under the auspices of the NHSC, where you agree to work in an underserved area following completion of your residency, and in addition to the salary you negotiate and agree to with a practice, you get a lump sum loan repayment - I think $25K per year up to a maximum of 4 years.
This struck me as the best of all possible worlds, in that YOU have the power to choose the places you look for jobs, you are able to keep an open mind throughout med school and don’t have to be tied to a primary care specialty, and you get some $$$ in the end.
All this stuff is available, I presume at the NHSC website, so those of you looking into this - go read it all and report back to us!
Mary
Mary,
NHSC is only about PC. Whether you received the scholarship or the loan repayment.
- NHSC website Said:
Allopathic or osteopathic physician specializing in family medicine, general pediatrics, general internal medicine, general psychiatry, or obstetrics/gynecology
Primary care nurse practitioner
Primary care physician assistant
Certified nurse-midwife
Dentist
Dental hygienist
Mental or behavioral health professional (health service psychologist, clinical social worker, licensed professional counselor, marriage and family therapist, and psychiatric nurse specialist)
- Emergency! Said:
Unfortunately the NHSC are the one's who decide whether or not EM falls under PC. It's their money so we want to use it we have to go by their definition. Trust me I would love it if EM was included in the definition of PC.
- croooz Said:
NHSC is only about PC. Whether you received the scholarship or the loan repayment.
Oh yeah I thought that was already established in the conversation but I can see how what I said might make that unclear. Yes, NHSC is only about primary care regardless of whether you get the money early on or near the end.
- croooz Said:
Crooz -
Sorry - I didn't make it clear that I wasn't referring to the NHSC in this case. I was trying to convey that there ARE states that consider EM as PC and offer financial incentives (other than NHSC money) for practicing in underserved areas in those states.
I talked to NHSC this morning, they said you can pick where you go, a relief. It is primary care or pediatrics. For me this is probably a practical choice as I can see doing internal medicine, but I can see how it would be very limiting as well. I still don’t know what they pay you for those 4 years as a doctor.
I don’t believe the NHSC does pay you while you are working as a doctor. You would be paid by whomever your employer is . . . a physician’s group, hospital, etc. NHSC is simply counting each year you work in an underserved area towards your required commitment. The pay would be dependent on the area you are in and going rates for medical professionals in those areas. As a rule, they will generally pay less than you could get elsewhere, but then again, you won’t be paying off $100,000+ in student loans, either
- Emergency! Said:
Exactomundo!
BTW the info about other states including EM as PC is OK by ME.
It's great news and something I'll have to keep looking into. I'm open to move anywhere for 3-4 years. Luckily/Unluckily for me my wife was a military brat and she's up for moving every 3-4 years. Me? I hate moving.
I don’t mind moving too much, but I’m a horrible pack-rat, so moving is always a giant pain in the rump for me. I don’t think the wife minds at all, because she knows I’ll end up doing all of the heavy lifting.
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I have seen advertisements for small towns who are desperate to replace a retiring family doc who will often repay your loans (x amount per year for each year you work there), offer housing or a housing stiped and other perks. It took a neighboring town over a year to find a family doc to replace their beloved retiring one, even with such incentives.
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In what publications or websites would you see these ads?
You occasionally see these types of ads crop up in JAMA and other journals of that type. Usually if you see an ad listing awesome benefits such as loan repayment, etc that seem too good to be true there is a reason. Either the position is out in the middle of nowhere or it’s in a place that has a tough time keeping docs due to a variety of other reasons.
Thanks everyone for all your helpful answers