Neurology loan repayment program residencies

[BillyRubinstein]

I highly doubt that these exist, but does anyone know of, or ever heard of any neuro residency programs that offer a loan repayment program if you do your residency in an undeserved area? I have heard of such programs in passing, so i know they exist, but they may just be for attendings, not residents. Any thoughts???

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[thepretender67]

does neurology not count as primary care for the underserved health services loan repayment program? I know that psychiatry is eligibile ....

 

[Hank Rearden]

To my knowledge there are no residency programs even in primary care that give you loan repayment. The primary care loan repayment usually entails a commitment after residency to work in an underserved area for ~3yrs. I've never heard of any such programs in Neurology.

 

[typhoonegator]

If you're a neurologist working at a not-for-profit hospital spending > 50% (I think) of your time on research, you can apply for NIH loan repayment. That's the only loan repayment program for neurologists that I'm aware of. They aren't that hard to get.

 

[Hank Rearden]

The ones you're referring to require at least 75% of your time (50% only if you're a surgeon) and 3 straight years dedicated to research. They're not that hard to get if you're a researcher at a certain institution in Boston...

 

[typhoonegator]

BINGO!

 

[bustbones26]

I have seen one, and only one, job opportunity in neurology, where the hospital was offering 100K back to loan repayment over a 5 year period.

There otherwise are no government programs as there are for primary care, other than the military of course. But I would not go that route after a civilian residency.

 

[oopsy]

You probably already considered this, but because I didnt know about this I'll highlight the US PSLF program. If your loans are eligible (signup and find out), then basically any residency you're in counts towards the 10 year mark--as long as your institution is not for profit. Thereafter you'll have to work for a non-profit (hospital, university, etc) until you reach 10 years, so it wouldn't help if you're going into private practice for yourself, but for those of you who aren't, this is a great service.

 

[thepretender67]

I have considered the PSLF program. I guess it's just tough to bank on a program still being there in 10 years. If you do it right and do IBR, paying a very low monthly payment, you can potentially screw yourself over by accruing more interest had you not banked on the PSLF, if the PSLF is eventually phased out.
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Will you plan on using this and if so, how will you make your 120 payments accordingly over 10 years- the bare minimum or more than that?

 

[oopsy]

My wife and I are doing the PSLF. Don't put a cent more than they ask for for the IRB---it's getting forgiven anyways, so you're throwing money away by overpaying. At the rate that you are underpaying your loan, no amount is going to protect you against the threat of the PSLF disappearing and being stuck with a ballooned balance.

It's also not an issue of the PSLF program disappearing as much as it is going to require higher and higher costs moving forward to stay on IRB. ie- the trick of filing married but separate is rumored to be going away soon. I've met with two separate financial advisers who both suggested the program, with the knowledge that we should expect our obligations to rise, not fall, as the program continues to get revised. But either way, you file, setup your account or whatever, and you're in. They're not going to just fold and forget about you.