Wow, it's been a while since I updated this.
Like I said, job recruiters will be very very very aggressive. I got emails from job recruiters after the first day of the conference. It was a little crazy.
At the recruitment conference, there are a lot of mandatory meetings that you have to attend, mostly because they talk about basic requirements, contracts, etc.
There were a lot of things that I didn't know, that I learned at the conference:
- Sites have requirements to meet, too, beyond just the need score. They have to show proof that they offer decent benefits, a decent salary, etc.
- Before you can go on a job interview, you have to request permission from the NHSC in order to go. This is so that the NHSC can check the site, make sure that they are an approved site, etc.
- Your job interview expenses are paid for by the NHSC. The NHSC will pay for your hotel, for your plane ticket, and will pay you a daily flat-rate per diem (at the standard federal rate) for all meals and incidentals. This is, like I said, a pre-determined flat rate. You don't have to submit receipts to get reimbursed for food. Even if you spend less than the per diem, you still get the whole amount. The only thing that the government does NOT pay for, however, is a rental car unless you have a specific need for one (i.e. you're interviewing in the middle of nowhere, and there's no public transportaton options). They do reimburse cab fare.
- When you finally get a job, your moving expenses are also paid for. If you are moving more than 50 miles away, they will pay for moving expenses, storage, and travel expenses, for up to $10,000. (They will pay more if you're moving outside the continental US - i.e. Hawaii, Alaska, Guam, USVI.) They will not pay to have your car shipped, unless again you're moving somewhere that you physically cannot drive to (Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, etc.)
- There is, as always, a TON of paperwork. Before you can be allowed to go on a job interview, you have to submit an updated CV, a copy of your Step 3 scores (or analogous exams for PAs, NPs, and dentists), and a bunch of other things.
At the conference, I was told that if your site's need score changes while you're serving your commitment there, that does NOT mean that you must find another site to work at. For example, if you're serving a 4 year commitment at a site, and after 2 years there, the site's need score goes from a 17 to a 12, that doesn't mean that you have to leave. That's what I was TOLD, I don't have this IN WRITING. I would strongly urge people to make sure that this is the case, particularly if they have a long commitment. Just to be safe.
Finally, what I also learned is that the NHSC
DOES NOT PAY FOR LICENSING FEES. I found this to be profoundly irritating, because they require that you have a full license before you're allowed to serve your commitment, but they won't help you pay for it. The site MAY help you pay for it, but this is not universal....and those licensing fees are expensive. For physicians, most unrestricted state license fees are about $700. The DEA license is an additional $730 on top of that.
😡 So, the moral of the story is...save up some money before you apply for your licenses!
