Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service

The Bureau of Health Professions (BHPr) has recently been reorganized, adding a branch which will directly provide financial aid to eligible health professionals. This new branch is called the Bureau of Clinician Recruitment and Service (BCRS). BCRS administers HRSA programs that provide direct support to health professionals.

The mission of BCRS is to improve the health of the Nation's underserved communities and vulnerable populations by coordinating the recruitment and retention of caring health professionals in the healthcare system and supporting communities' efforts to build more integrated and sustainable systems of care.

There are a variety of programs that students and clinicians may apply for. The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) Loan Repayment program will repay the loans of licensed health professionals working in health professional shortage areas. The NHSC Scholarship Program offers an array of benefits such as: payment of tuition and fees, books and supplies, as well as a monthly stipend for up to four years of education in exchange for two years of service. The Nursing Scholarship Program pays for tuition, required fees, and other reasonable costs in exchange for two years of service at a health care facility suffering a shortage of nurses. The Nursing Education Loan Repayment Program is a competitive program that repays 60 percent of the qualifying loan balance in exchange for two years of service at a critical shortage facility by registered nurses.

There is also support for Faculty. The Faculty Loan Repayment Program provides a financial incentive for degree-trained health professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds to pursue academic careers. Individuals selected must serve on the faculty of an accredited health professions college or university for at least two years. For their service, the Federal government will pay up to $20,000 for each year of service to the outstanding principal and interest on the participants educational loans.

Through the National Health Service Corps Ambassador Program, BCRS supports HRSA grantees, other safety net providers, and critical nursing shortage facilities with technical assistance and support to develop effective recruitment and retention programs in their communities, including the utilization of the various scholarships, loan repayment and recruitment programs administered through the bureau. Ambassadors are intended to provide support for students and clinicians who are dedicated to providing healthcare to areas across the country that do not have an adequate number of healthcare providers.

Other programs remaining in BHPr include institutional grant programs such as the Graduate Psychology Education (GPE) Program

Back to Top^