A Closer Look At Loan Repayment – The NIH Program
Thinking back to my post on when to get out of medicine if you’re unhappy, I completely forgot to mention this option as a viable resource for those wishing to pursue a career in research or to eliminate some of the accumulated educational debt.
The NIH has a loan repayment program, and it’s pretty generous. Let’s take a look at just what they offer:
What Is It?
The NIH loan repayment program is essentially a 2 year research commitment in a government-funded or non-profit research environment. They will repay up to $70,000 in educational debt at $35,000 per year. In addition, they will also pay federal tax payments for credit to your IRS tax account at the rate of 39% of each loan repayment to cover your increased federal taxes.
At first glance, $35,000 per year might not seem like a lot, but combine that with the tax benefits and the fact that you will also be earning a salary while conducting research and this is a really good deal. If $70,000 in loan repayments isn’t enough (and for most students, it won’t be), they do offer programs for additional loan repayment after the first two years.
5 Repayment Programs
There are five repayment programs available to choose from.
- Loan Repayment for Clinical Research
- Loan Repayment for Pediatric Research
- Loan Repayment for Health Disparities Research
- Loan Repayment for Clinical Researchers from Disadvantaged Backgrounds
- Loan Repayment for Contraception and Infertility Research
Eligibility
- Doctorate-level degree
- Government research funding (Federal, state or local) or domestic nonprofit research funding
- Student loan debt equal to at least 20% of annual salary
- U.S. citizenship or permanent residency
- Non-Federal government job
Let’s just assume that a student’s research salary is $40,000 per year. 20% of this figure is only $8,000. It’s safe to say that every medical student who even looked at loan will meet this requirement.
One thing to keep in mind is that loan repayment programs (LRPs) are not available to federal employees working full-time. However, federal research employees working 20 hours per week or less are qualified. An NIH grant is not required.
Qualifying Loans
Loans that are issued by federal, local, or state governments, by your academic institution, or by commercial lenders qualify for LRP. If you have a loan it qualifies, unless your uncle Billy decided to fork over the cash for medical school.
Be careful with consolidation. The LRP states that it’s OK to consolidate your educational loans, but keep them purely educational. In other words, don’t consolidate your educational loans with your house payment, as this could cause eligibility problems.
Strategy for Acceptance
The best strategy to get the most bang for your buck and to maximize your chances for acceptance into the program is to attempt to find full-time employment in a non-profit laboratory.
Another option is to work part-time at a government-funded lab, and pick up other part-time work to help cover expenses. If you don’t have any other expenses to cover, then by all means stick to the part-time work and enjoy the hell out of life.
More Information
Head over to the official NIH LRP site, and read through all of the fine print if you’re interested. I really just touched the surface in a quick review of the program, but I think it has a lot of potential for those students with high debt burdens.
Combine a $35,000 yearly research salary with another $35,000 in loan repayment, and you’re essentially making $70,000 per year in research. Add on the tax benefits and it’s even more. You can’t go wrong with at least applying to the program, especially if you’re interested in pursuing a career in research after medical school.
Alternative M.D. – Texas Consultant
Here’s a job I found that would be ideal for someone already in clinical practice and looking for a way out. Engineering undergraduate background is a plus:
Consultant needed to join a professional services firm in San Antonio, Texas. Must have MD/DO as well as a mechanical or design engineering degree. TX license not necessary as long as physician is licensed in any state.
Seeking outstanding individuals to join this fourteen year old research and consulting firm composed of a multi-disciplinary team of creative and committed staff who work in a pleasant and collegial, fast-paced yet casual atmosphere. This firm is nationally and internationally recognized as a leader in its field with a proven track record of sustained growth and responsible fiscal management.
This company specializes in analyzing the response of the human body to forces in events, such as automobile collisions, to determine how or if injuries are caused. Employed are full-time physicians, engineers and physician engineers whose qualifications allow them to integrate both the physics of the vehicular collisions and the medical issues related to the claimed injuries in the analysis of injury causation.
These consultants are often asked to provide expert testimony for litigation support across the US. This company has conducted extensive research in the area of low velocity impacts. The results of the research have been published in peer-reviewed articles in various publications and the articles are widely used and referenced in the scientific and medical communities.
This litigation support position offers no patients, no call, no malpractice. This position is ideal for a physician with a strong clinical trauma background. Offering a competitive salary as well as excellent benefits, including profit sharing and a 401(k) plan.
If you are interested in this opportunity, contact Lia Langston directly at 1-888-333-4585. To expedite the recruiting process, forward your CV via email to Lia@staffpointe.com or by fax to 1-877-878-1970 (attn: Lia). Find more opportunities online or register for free at www.staffpointe.com. Please refer to job# L6633
via: [StaffPointe]
Alternative M.D. – Senior Scientific Writer
This is the first installment of what will be (hopefully) regular updates regarding alternative careers that you can do with an M.D.
This particular career is through employment with Merck.
Senior Scientific Writer / Editor
Requisition number: SCI003023
Introducing Alternative M.D. Careers
A question I get a lot is “what can you do with an M.D. besides practice medicine?” In an effort to answer this question, I decided to launch a little segment I like to call Alternative M.D. Careers.
What we’ll be doing is taking a closer look at a real job, that’s available now, and that you can do with an M.D. Sure, there might be other qualifications that you don’t have, or some type of experience required that’s not that common with graduates fresh out of medical school. But, the idea is to get the creative juices flowing and at least start you down a path where you can perhaps discover that perfect job if you’re not planning on staying in medicine.
Basically, I’ll just take a job posting that I find at various hiring boards and post that information here. I’ll then briefly dissect the qualifications and see if there’s anything that you guys can do with it.
I’ve got the first segment nearly complete. It should be up within the next day or so.