| |
The Board of Medical Student Loans provides
loans to medical students who agree to practice in rural areas or areas that are
designated as medically underserved. Approved applicants agree to serve in an
approved area for at least two years, or for one year for each year of support,
whichever is longer. To be eligible for a loan, a medical student must be an
Arizona resident, and plan to pursue a primary care career in family practice,
pediatrics, obstetrics, or internal medicine.
Statutory changes are needed to clarify the
types of areas in which doctors may fulfill service obligations. The Board has
approved doctors to work in areas that do not meet the statutory definition of a
medically underserved area. One doctor works in urban Mesa at a facility that
provides services to uninsured alcohol and drug addicts. Although this doctor
serves a medically needy, indigent population, the site is not a medically
underserved area. If the Board wants greater flexibility to approve service
areas that do not meet the current definition of "medically
underserved," it should request a statutory change. Although the other four
doctors work in areas that could be considered rural, the appropriateness of
their practice locations is unclear since the Board’s statutes do not define
rural. The report recommends that the Legislature amend the Board’s statutes
to define rural areas.
The report also recommends that the Board
modify applicant selection practices to ensure continued fair and equal
consideration of all loan applicants. As a result of legislation adopted in
1999, students from Midwestern University’s Arizona College of Osteopathic
Medicine can now apply for loans in addition to students at the University of
Arizona of Medicine. The report recommends that the Board adopt standard
interview instruments and a scoring system.
|
|
