NYS Regents Healthcare Scholarship Info

[Doctor Z]

Just curious if any out there have taken this scholarship. $10,000 per year for promising to practice in an underserved area per year per award. Where are the designated underserved areas. Are doctors paid a salary during this service? How much and what is the experience like. Any information would be helpful. Thanks.

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[nyc25]

Just curious if any out there have taken this scholarship. $10,000 per year for promising to practice in an underserved area per year per award. Where are the designated underserved areas. Are doctors paid a salary during this service? How much and what is the experience like. Any information would be helpful. Thanks.

You may get more responses in the Financial Aid forum.

 

[edfig99]

like many things you'll encounter in your career, the NYS Regents HCS is one of those things that look great at the time, but you'll wish you hadn't later.

here's the deal -- you get awarded UP TO $10,000/yr of scholarship aid (could be more or less, depeding on state budget issues), in exchange per year of service. there is a minimum of 2 yrs service (so obviously you'll probably want to take 2 years of money). you have to study in medical school in NYS and you'll have to provide service in an underserved area in NYS on completion of training. they have other eligibility criteria as well. They do maintain a list of areas, as well as certain hospitals and programs for special consideration. it's a heavy primary care emphasis, as well as general surgery and some subspecialties depending on the shortage area. you absolutely have to do full time patient care upon completion of training (so if you're interest in academics or research, you'd have to delay that for the time being, until your service is complete).

i took the money for two years and while it seemed great at the time, i have ultimatley regretted it. i think it's too little money to have so many tight strings attached. if you don't do the service (which is not uncommon) then you have to pay back roughly double the money they gave you. along with other penalties and interest.

i think there are few compelling reasons to pursue this award, and again, in retrospect i probably would've just borrowed more money. unless there are some heavy duty competing financial issues, i wouldn't look at this award. feel free to PM with specific questions.

 

[MEG@COOL]

Dont worry about this scholarship at doctor z. YOu will not need one sicne you havent even finished highschool yet.

 

[Doctor Z]

like many things you'll encounter in your career, the NYS Regents HCS is one of those things that look great at the time, but you'll wish you hadn't later.

here's the deal -- you get awarded UP TO $10,000/yr of scholarship aid (could be more or less, depeding on state budget issues), in exchange per year of service. there is a minimum of 2 yrs service (so obviously you'll probably want to take 2 years of money). you have to study in medical school in NYS and you'll have to provide service in an underserved area in NYS on completion of training. they have other eligibility criteria as well. They do maintain a list of areas, as well as certain hospitals and programs for special consideration. it's a heavy primary care emphasis, as well as general surgery and some subspecialties depending on the shortage area. you absolutely have to do full time patient care upon completion of training (so if you're interest in academics or research, you'd have to delay that for the time being, until your service is complete).

i took the money for two years and while it seemed great at the time, i have ultimatley regretted it. i think it's too little money to have so many tight strings attached. if you don't do the service (which is not uncommon) then you have to pay back roughly double the money they gave you. along with other penalties and interest.

i think there are few compelling reasons to pursue this award, and again, in retrospect i probably would've just borrowed more money. unless there are some heavy duty competing financial issues, i wouldn't look at this award. feel free to PM with specific questions.

Thank you Edgar for posting a reply. I do have some followup questions if you don;t mind. Feel free to PM the answers if you like, but having it public may help others in a similiar situation.

1. How is the compensation (salary) for practicing in one of these designated underserved areas in comparision with compensation recieved by your peers who did not take out this scholarship.

2. Is there any way to know before hand what sites you will be serving? Can sites be picked or are they assigned?

Your answers are appreciated. I will also be contacting the HESC offices in the next few days, but would like to get some perspectives from students who have gone this route. I will most definitely post any additional information I find from HESC for others interested in this award.

 

[edfig99]

1. How is the compensation (salary) for practicing in one of these designated underserved areas in comparision with compensation recieved by your peers who did not take out this scholarship.

if you mean a peer working in one of these areas who didn't take a scholarship, then the compensation should be about the same. it's equally low, but it depends on what services are being offered and what mix of payers exist.

someone who doesn't work in an underserved area, probably makes more...but they may not. all depends on what services are being offered and what mix of payers exist.

i took an academic job, so i get a guaranteed salary. however, when you are in academics you make a lot less than your peers anyway (underserved or not).

2. Is there any way to know before hand what sites you will be serving? Can sites be picked or are they assigned?

the HESC posts the areas designated as NYS shortage areas, so you try to land a job in one of those areas. for example, Washington Heights is a designated shortage area (even though Columbia Presbyterian is up here). So i got a job working for columbia presbyterian. it's not a real "site" like the national health service corps. it's an area of the state, so there is a lot more leeway.

Your answers are appreciated. I will also be contacting the HESC offices in the next few days, but would like to get some perspectives from students who have gone this route. I will most definitely post any additional information I find from HESC for others interested in this award.

again, unless you are a med student who is ABSOLUTELY strapped for aid, I wouldn't give it much thought and wouldn't waste the time on the phone. i mean, hypothetically if the funding is poor, you get awarded only $5000 then you are committed to two years of service for such a paltry amount of money in an area of a state you may not even want to practice in in the future, in a specialty you might not really want to. again, it's way too little money with way too many strings attached. if you aren't a second year med student then i wouldn't even bother calling.. (why second year? well first year is too early--you really have no idea what you want to do, ...and third year is too late-- you are committed for 2 years of service, you may as well get 2 yrs of aid.)

good luck.