How were you able to graduate PA school debt free?
I applied for the NHSC (National Health Service Corps Scholarship) and became a Scholar in 2018. This was my second year of PA school. I had originally applied in 2017 once I got accepted to PA school, but they ran out of funds and I was not selected. They encouraged me to reapply, so I submitted everything one more time the following year.
What is the National Health Service Corps Scholarship?
This is a national scholarship for PA, NP, Medical, and Dental students who are committed to working in family medicine in underserved/rural areas. You must complete a service requirement after graduation in an underserved clinic. For PA students the commitment is 2 years, but medical and dental students have a 4-year commitment.
What are the requirements for it?
You must be accepted in PA school or other type of medical program before applying.
· 3.0 GPA
· Accepted to PA school or graduate program
· have a desire to work with underserved patients
· U.S. Citizen
· Military can qualify
How does it work?
Basically you apply for the scholarship around March/April after being accepted to a program. You will have your students’ loans paid for the moment you become a scholar, not anything prior to that. You will also receive a stipend every month, and miscellaneous money for other expenses. After you graduate, you are required to work 2 years in an underserved clinic in the nation.
When should I apply?
You should apply right when you get accepted to PA school. The earlier the better because NHSC will pay more semesters that way. You can also apply your second year of PA school, however, you will still have the same two year commitment of work even if they only paid you for one year of school.
Can you talk about the timeline?
You apply for the scholarship March/April, right now the scholarship is due May 15th. If you become a finalist, you will be notified around July/august. Most likely if you are a finalist that means you are going to get the scholarship. You have one week from when you are notified of being a finalist to sign an acceptance form and a contract and submit your bank account information. Scholarships are disbursed around September which means your Summer and Fall term would have to be paid by school loans. You will be given money retroactively for summer and fall semesters, therefore you can pay those loans back. You will also be given stipend money retroactively and the miscellaneous money.
What does the award include?
Semester tuition, monthly stipend, and miscellaneous money. For example, My semesters was about $11,000, I received $1,250 every month for living expenses, and about $8,000 a year for miscellaneous expenses. My total award was about $97,000 and I received it my second year, therefore, if I would have received it my first year, it would have been much more.
What does the application entail?
· Information about you
· Information about your program
· 3 essays of about 2,500 characters each
· Extensive resume
· 2 letters of recommendation
Who should I get my letters of recommendation from?
You should get your letters from a PA faculty of your program if you are applying your second year and another letter can be from a professor, previous job, or somebody you did an extracurricular activity with such as research, volunteer, or anything else. If it’s your first year applying, I would get your letters from an undergraduate professor and somebody who knows you on another level, such as an employer, PA, physician etc.
Do you work for free when you graduate?
No, you will be paid just like a new graduate PA. You are not working for free otherwise that would not make any sense. You are simply working for an underserved clinic and making a difference in many patients’ lives.
How do you go about finding a job after graduation?
You will be matched with an advisor during your last semester of PA school. He or she will help you narrow down your top 3 states and they will help you find a job.
What resources do you have as a scholar?
Once you become a scholar, you will create a portal online where you will see your award letters, all of your documents, your contact and bank information, and it will be where you will reach NHSC faculty for questions. Here we can submit all kinds of requests and ask questions.
Is there a chance I can stay in my home state for my service obligation?
Yes, there a chance, however, I think you need to be open minded about different locations and what is available. There may be a chance you don’t get the job offer you want and therefore moving must be an option. If you are absolutely against moving out of state, I do not recommend you apply for this scholarship.
How is the process of applying for jobs?
The process is the same as any graduating PA. We are given a specific website where all of the HRSA clinics are available and which ones are hiring. You basically input physician assistant jobs in the country or you can narrow them down to any state or city. Every year there is a specific HPSA score ( I will explain what that means below) which scholars must work at and depending on that score you search up clinics within that range. You can contact the clinics directly, or simply visit their website, complete their online application and wait for an interview. The application process is pretty much the same as any graduating PA except we use the website we are given.
What is an HPSA score?
HPSA stands for Health Professional Shortage Areas. This is a score that measures how underserved a clinic is based on other reported national data. Every year the required score for scholars’ changes. A higher score means the clinic is more underserved and has a higher need for medical providers. This year, the score for me is 19 or higher, therefore I must find a clinic that has this score or higher. I cannot take a job in a clinic that has a score lower than this.
Do you have to work in rural areas?
Absolutely not! I will be working in New York City as a family medicine PA. There are so many job opportunities all over the country for scholars. You can even work in Honolulu, Hawaii, I happened to find a clinic there when I was visiting. The opportunities are endless, you do not have to work in a rural area if that’s not what you want.
Is your salary competitive?
Yes, I would say your salary is a competitive salary for any graduating PA looking to work in family medicine. You can still negotiate your benefits and your salary.
Any advice for somebody working on their essays?
I personally feel like the scholarship looks at applications in a very holistic way. They take everything into consideration including GPA, essays, resume, letters of recommendation, etc. I do think they try to look for individuals who match the mission of working in family medicine and making a difference in underserved/rural populations. Therefore, I think a critical part of your application is your essay and resume. Make sure you focus on your story, why are you passionate about the underserved population, rural health, or helping others, are you from a rural town or are you a minority? Do you speak more than one language? Has your family faced healthcare disparities, explain all of this. Focus on what you have done such as volunteering or medical work that has impacted you and has made you realize you want to work in areas that desperately need medical care.
Make sure your resume is detailed enough about your volunteer, work, and patient care experience. I would also add a cover letter and really tell them why YOU should be the one being selected, what makes you special. Make sure when you complete your essays, you answer the question they are looking for.
What if I don’t want to work in family medicine?
Then maybe this scholarship is not for you. However, think about it. You will graduate PA school, what are the chances that you find a job in a specialty that you enjoy? Also, what is the amount of loans that you are willing to sacrifice to “work” in a specialty? Starting in family medicine is a great foundation for your PA career and NHSC gives you the opportunity to start there. You may also be able to work and learn from other specialties with that umbrella of family medicine. These can include pediatrics, women’s health, internal medicine, and maybe others.
I hope this answer some of the most asked questions about NHSC. Good luck to all of you applying, you are definitely making the right move. Feel free to send me any additional questions you may have.
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