Awards are made based on a competitive application process and the recommendations of an advisory committee. Funds are provided to participants once they begin practicing and provide documentation regarding their educational loan balance.
- $30,000 for medical and dental students.
- $15,000 for students training to become nurse educators, nurse midwives, nurse practitioners, occupational therapists, pharmacists, physical assistants, clinical psychologists, public health practitioners, and social workers.
Eligible Students
- Fourth-year medical students who are entering primary care or emergency medicine residency programs in West Virginia. Primary care residencies include family medicine, geriatrics, general internal medicine, internal medicine/pediatrics, obstetrics and gynecology, preventive medicine or psychiatry.
- Students in the final year of a graduate or doctoral program for nurse educators, nurse midwives, nurse practitioner, or occupational therapy
- Students who are in the final year of a graduate program for physician assistants or public health
- Students in the final year of a doctoral program in dentistry, pharmacy, or physical therapy
- Students in the final year of a graduate social work program, leading to a career as a Licensed Independent Clinical Social Worker
- Students in the final year of doctoral clinical psychology program who intend to enter a clinical internship in West Virginia
Eligibility for Other Financial Incentives
Students who receive a Health Sciences Service award also may qualify for other financial incentives for practice in rural or underserved areas of West Virginia (see West Virginia Recruitment Programs in the resources section below). In some cases, the service obligations can be met concurrently. However, federal law prohibits concurrent service of a Health Sciences Service Program obligation with some federal programs’ service obligations, such as the National Health Service Corps loan repayment program.