With service commitment programs, you owe time instead of money after your residency. Most are also looking for primary care physicians although the Armed Forces still allows some specialization.
Armed Forces
The Armed Forces offer service commitment scholarships that cover tuition and fees, books and supplies, and provide a monthly stipend for living expenses. All require U.S. citizenship and acceptance or enrollment in a medical school.
Armed Forces scholarship selection boards look at:
- Undergraduate grade point average and school
- MCAT scores
- Work experience
- Extra-curricular and community activities
- Letters of reference
- Career potential
Applicants must also pass a physical exam. Several of the Armed Forces also offer loan repayment programs. Check out the national sites, and feel free to contact the local recruiters as listed below.
Indian Health Service
The Indian Health Service offers service commitment scholarships which pay tuition and fees, books and supplies and provide a monthly stipend for living expenses. Applicants must be native American Indians.
Note that they also have a loan repayment program if you join after you complete your medical residency.
National Health Service Corps
The National Health Service Corps offers service commitment scholarships which pay tuition and fees, books and supplies, and provide a monthly stipend for living expenses. National Health Service Corps selection guidelines give preference to students from disadvantaged backgrounds and applicants with strong primary care career goals. After residency, participants are placed in areas where primary health care physicians are needed.
The National Health Service Corps also offers two loan repayment programs:
- Students To Service offers $120,000 in loan repayment for a three-year service commitment at an NHSC site. Students apply during their fourth year of medical school.
- NHSC Loan Repayment Program offers licensed health care providers $50,000 toward student loans in exchange for a two-year commitment at an NHSC-approved site.
