MusicalPA

You can go to this website. https://connector.hrsa.gov/connector/ If the score is 14 or higher you have a good chance of getting loan repayment. If it's lower, there is a possibility. It's all about funding for higher priority places. I suggest finding a place you like to work first that would be a good fit that happens to be a NHSC site. Loan repayment applications are due April 25th. So if you find a job and work a while, by the next application cycle you should know if the job is a decent fit. Check out the financial aid forum on this topic. There is a lot of stipulations with loan repayment and you need to make sure you understand what you are getting into. NHSC should be icing on the cake.

Also, the scholarship probably works a lot like the NHSC student loan repayment when it comes to selecting a job. You need to find a qualified place to work before a certain time or they will help pick a place for you. I would search up qualified places in the area you would like to live and see if job openings will be available. Usually if their site score is high enough they will be looking for providers. I know for the student loan repayment program the qualified site had to have a score of 14 or higher to even be considered. This information is on the NHSC website.

As a wife of a PA, get the scholarship if you can. A few years in primary care will be worth not being in debt up to your eye balls. My husband didn't want to apply for the scholarship for the reason of not being really interested in primary care. He wanted to do ortho or surgery. After school he landed a job doing primary care with ER coverage at a CAH(we didn't know that type of work combo existed prior to PA school). That scholarship would have been nice. He did the student loan repayment for a few years. He is still working at the same place 3.5yrs out of school. Being on the forum it seems like a lot of people on here say doing primary care for a while can help strengthen your foundation when it comes time to take the PANCE vs. going straight into a speciality. I've also read on here that sometimes doing a sub speciality can pigeonhole you moving to other specialities. I would think if a place is willing to take a new grad in surgery they would be willing to take a PA with some experience in primary care. You would know pretty much the same as a new grad going into a surgery job. A 6 week rotation is just to get you familiar with the speciality. Keep up suturing skills, which depending on where you go for primary care you will do that. According to my husband, surgeon to surgeon will do things differently. So just as soon as he figured out a certain suture or technique the next surgeon on his rotation will tell him he was wrong and to do it a different way. Good luck!

Yes,that is correct about the program he was in. He could use 35 days for vacation/cme/sick time. What the OP described is an accurate program. The OP is at a different type of facility that can be awarded a different amount. We didn't go to the CAH job just for the loan repayment. Even though the facility qualified, there isn't a guarantee you will be approved. We looked at all our job offers and felt the job we took was the best fit and if he got approved for the loan repayment it would be icing on the cake. He started 3 yrs ago making 125k a year doing clinic and doing ER call(one day a week, one weekend/month) The CAH pays for all our family's medical and dental premiums(about 18k a year) good medical coverage along with other typical benefits. He now makes around 154k. Yes, like you mentioned some CAH will low ball your salary thinking you will get loan repayment. People should always think of it as icing in the cake.

I'm sorry you feel this way. The program guidance booklet(at a minimum) and possibly your contact spells out what a breach of contract would entail. It doesn't spell out an exact number because it's based on a formula, but you should get an idea. I guess you missed that section. My husband and I knew the consquences of leaving. That's why we only took the money because we were confident he could see it through. Anyways, go through the program guidance book again. They have rules on transferring sites and how to go about it.

I guess there is a possibility based on funding that you wouldn't get the max amount at full time status, since is says "up to" X amount. We got the max amount though, and so did the OP.

No, you don't have to work at your job for a certain time. I would at least get an idea if your work is a good enough environment that you can commit to working that long there. Application deadline varies, but there are months in between deadline, approval, and contract start time. So you can always cancel the contract in the 60day window if you think things won't work out. The tricky thing for us was my husband's employment contract was from Feb-Feb, but the NHSC contract was from Sept-Sept. So you gotta know whether you are going to stay longer. There are a few different programs based on the type of facility. https://nhsc.hrsa.gov/loan-repayment/nhsc-all-loan-repayment-programs-comparison 50k/2yrs was full time for primary care. 100k/3yrs is for a different type of facility. They offer part-time which is half the money. The 50k/2yr program offers renewal on a yr to yr basis at a reduced amount. I think 20k/yr for year 3 and goes down every year up to 5 yrs.

My husband's was able to qualify for the 50k/2yr commitment. Application took an hour or so. It's the easiest when you just have fed loans to prove. If you have private loans it takes a little more leg work. Your facility has to have a high enough score(I think atleast 14 to be competitive). They like to see an applicant willing to stay in their area after the contract is up(not sure if that's a make or break thing). They ask such questions on the application. His facility is a CAH. He does clinic and ER call. You have to do 40hrs/week primary care no less than a 4day week(I think some time can be admin time, I forget). You have to track your days and report every 6 months and get verification from employer. You can't go over I believe 35 days/year of vac,sick, and cme time or you have to make up days on your contract. If something crazy unforseen thing happens and you have to miss a bunch of days past your 35, then they can work with you, but you must fulfill the contract. If your job ends up being crappy, then you have to stick it out or find another qualified facility to work at. If you get fired, same scenario. If you want to break the contract after you have received the funds, then it's not pretty. They have a calculator on their portal to figure out payback with interest and penalties. You don't want to break it. They do give you 60 days from the time the contract is signed by both parties to cancel the contract. They have let people out of the contract past the 60 days but before they disburse funds which usually happens at the 90 day mark of contract commencing. You want to make sure you will commit to it. No turning back. My husband's experience was pretty smooth sailing. The only annoyance was his work contract and NHSC contract didn't line up, so calculating days off and when they could be used was a little hassle. If you can get the initial contract doing a renewal on a year to year basis is pretty easy, even if your facility score goes down you can possibly get a renewal.

You need to go into the portal to check what the payback with interest and fees are based on how many months you have left. It isn't simply just pay the money back... My husband did the 50k for 2 yrs. We knew we were signing our soul to the devil for that time, but we knew we could stick it out. He's still at the same place going on 3yrs. We would have owed more back then his total loans in the 100k range for breaking the contact. So get through it or find a new site that will let you work at. Good luck!

My husband got the NHSC service loan repayment. It is $50,000 for a 2 yr commitment. They gave the money in one lump sum, so you still make your normal payments. Lots of string attached. Track hours, can't miss more than 35 days a year including holidays. You have to fill out a form every 6 months for your hours and days. So far, so good.

So far so good with Laurel Road at 4.21 with the discounts. For some reason Sofi was a lot higher. I have a referral code for Laurel Road. PM if you want it.

My husband is a PA student that graduates in Aug. We are from CO. We are hoping to get back there, but it seems CO is not PA friendly when it comes to new grads, and the pay from what we heard is on the lower end. Housing cost are ridiculous there up and down the Front Range.

Since you are doing Locums, is this a 1099 job?

What are your thoughts on areas of the country where you can get a cheaper mortgage payment than paying rent to someone?

I don't see it on USAjobs right now. The OP posted it to this thread in March. I believe it had a deadline of June 1st. They give preference to "in your last year of PA school" and veterans. I bet they will open it again around March 2018.