I hate my debt

[LuckyCharms83]

So I'll be in debt $150K when I graduate med school, and right now I am leaning on going into Family Practice. I won't qualify for a NHSC scholarship at this stage in the game (nor do I really want to commit myself to this). But, I was wondering what the opportunities were for partial loan reimbursements after medical school as a signing on bonus for joining certain group practices. Is this very common? Are we talking rural areas only or elsewhere? ~Thanks for your thoughts

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[zmeister22]

$150,000? You're lucky. Payment on that amount will be less than $1000/mo for a 30 year term at 7% without any type of employer repayment assistance. That is completely doable. There are places that offer a sign-on bonus, loan repayment, etc. You just have to look. I saw a hospitalist position advertising today for $115,000 in repayment over a 5 year period. Don't worry about the money and do what you want to do for the rest of your life. I know it's hard to hear now, but you will realize how true it is later.

 

[simpler2]

You mentioned the NHSC Scholarship. True you wouldn't qualify but you could do the NHSC Loan Repayment Program. Simply work at a site that qualifies and apply. 25k per year commitment with minimal 2 year and I believe up to 7 years. Also, many hosp and other employers offer loan repayment when they hire. FP seems to offer more flexibility as far as location goes with most of these opportunities. The way I look at FP, if you are a bit flexible there really is no need to pay your loans back yourself.

 

[HCE]

You mentioned the NHSC Scholarship. True you wouldn't qualify but you could do the NHSC Loan Repayment Program. Simply work at a site that qualifies and apply. 25k per year commitment with minimal 2 year and I believe up to 7 years. Also, many hosp and other employers offer loan repayment when they hire. FP seems to offer more flexibility as far as location goes with most of these opportunities. The way I look at FP, if you are a bit flexible there really is no need to pay your loans back yourself.

...and maybe I'm crazy, but I don't see how a universal-type insurance program will ever work unless something is done to attract more folks to primary care...I would thus think that tuition reimbursement and other such perks will be increased tremendously over the next 4-8 years...