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• HSSP Brochure
• HSSP Student Application
• Recommendation Form
• Certification of Educational Status Form
• Eligible Sites for Service Obligation:

• For Physicians, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Physical Therapists
  • Health Sciences Scholarship Program Service Areas List and Map.
  • The Bureau for Public Health’s list of State and Federally Funded Community Health Centers , Free Clinics, and School-Based Health Centers.

• For Nurse Educators
  • The State Approved Undergraduate Nursing Programs 2009.

• For Licensed Independent Clinical Social Workers and Doctoral Clinical Psychologists
  • Health Sciences Scholarship Program Service Areas List and Map.
  • The Bureau for Public Health’s list of State and Federally Funded Comprehensive Behavioral Health Programs and state Acute-Care Psychiatric Hospitals
  • West Virginia Veteran’s Affairs list of State and Federally Funded Health Facilities and Mental Health Facilities.

• West Virginia Recruitment Programs

Health Sciences Scholarships are awarded through a competitive process, so please provide complete information. You may attach additional pages if needed.  Please fill out your application online, then print and mail to the Program Coordinator listed below. 

Your application, two recommendation forms, and the Certification of Educational Status must be postmarked by October 15^th.  Awards will be announced in early December.  

If you have any questions, you may discuss the program with the contacts listed in the HSSP brochure, or the program coordinator listed below under Contact Information.

Eligibility

•  Fourth-year medical students at a West Virginia schools of medicine who are entering primary care internships or residency programs in West Virginia, including general/family medicine, general pediatrics, general internal medicine, combined internal medicine/pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology, and general psychiatry;
• Students who are in the final year of a primary care educational program for nurse practitioners or physician assistants, a graduate physical therapy program, or a master’s degree nursing program in West Virginia, leading to a career in nursing education; and
•  Students who are in the final year of a graduate social work program, leading to a career as a licensed independent clinical social worker, or a doctoral clinical psychology program.  Doctoral psychology students must match with an internship in West Virginia.

Obligation to Practice in West Virginia

Participants must sign a contract to fulfill a service obligation after completing training. Medical, nurse practitioner, physician assistant, and physical therapy students are required to practice primary care or physical therapy for a minimum of two years in an underserved rural area of West Virginia.  Participants are responsible for locating a practice site. Participants in mental health fields have additional eligible sites -- community mental health centers, state mental hospitals, or veterans’ health facilities.

Participants in nursing education must sign a contract to teach for at least two years in a state approved, accredited undergraduate nursing program in West Virginia. These students are responsible for locating a nursing faculty position after completing training.

The penalty for not fulfilling the service obligation is repayment of the scholarship with interest.

Eligibility for Other Financial Incentives

Students who are awarded Health Sciences Scholarships may also qualify for other financial incentives for rural practice in West Virginia. (See West Virginia Recruitment Programs.)  In many cases, the service obligations can be met concurrently. 

Contact Information:

Alicia Tyler, Program Coordinator
Health Sciences Scholarship Program
West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission
1018 Kanawha Blvd. E., Suite 700
Charleston, WV   25301
Phone: 304-558-0530; Fax: 304-558-0532
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