|
The National Health Service Corps (NHSC) is a
federal program housed in the Bureau of Health Professions
in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The NHSC has both a
scholarship and loan repayment program for eligible health
professionals in exchange for health care in designated underserved areas. In
recent years, psychologists have participated in the loan repayment program.
The Safety Net bill recently signed by President Bush allows individual
that will pursue a doctorate in psychology to apply for the NHSC
scholarship program. However, the changes in the law take
some time before they go into effect and it is unknown now to what extent the
Bureau of Health Professions will include psychology students in the scholarship
program.
Participants of both the scholarship and
loan repayment programs are placed into health professional shortage areas.
Psychologists are placed in Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas (MHPSAs)
as designated by the U.S. Office of Shortage Designation. There are over
900 MHPSAs across the United States and its territories. Psychologists
can contact health facilities that are designated as MHPSAs for a placement or
work with a health facility in underserved areas to get a designation as a MHPSA
and then be hired.
As previously stated, psychologists are
currently eligible for the loan repayment program. To qualify for the
loan repayment program you must:
- Be a fully trained doctoral level clinical or counseling psychologist
- Be free of judgment lines arising from federal debt
- Have no other existing service commitment
- Serve full time (40 hours a week) in the clinical practice of your
profession
- Commit to serve a minimum of two years in a professional shortage area
Have U.S. citizenship with a valid, unrestricted license and / or
certificate for the state where you plan to practice.
The benefits of participating in the NHSC loan
repayment program are:
- Minimum repayment during the required initial two-year
contract is $25,000 per year.
- You may extend your loan repayment beyond two years, one
year at a time, to the extent that you have unpaid qualifying education
loans and serve at an eligible site.
- One-year extensions are awarded for a maximum of $35,000
per year.
- A payment of 39 percent of total loan repayment is given to
assist with tax liability. The state or community for which you work
determines salary and benefits package.
Some Helpful Links:
To find out more information about the NHSC,
you can check out the following website:
National Health Service Corps
In addition to help you locate underserved communities (MHPSAs)
which are in search of a mental health professional you can check the following
website:
Opportunities List
If you are interested in getting an area designated as a MHPSA you can check
the following website:
Shortage Designation Branch
Back to Top^
|