The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) applications for the eight Texas areas designated as veterinary services shortage situations.
Applications must be submitted by 5 p.m. on April 12.
The VMLRP is authorized by the National Veterinary Medical Services Act (NVMSA) and helps qualified veterinarians offset a significant portion of debt incurred while pursuing their veterinary medicine degrees in return for at least three years of service in a designated veterinary shortage area.
The Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) is hosting a webinar for those Texas veterinarians interested in applying for the VLMRP on Thursday, March 28, from 6-7 p.m.
The webinar will provide applicants an in-depth explanation of the program.
Send an email to authorized_personnel@tahc.texas.gov to register for the webinar. Be sure to include your full name and email address.
Eligible veterinarians are encouraged to apply for the VMLRP. The criteria are listed below:
- Have a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), or the equivalent, from a college of veterinary medicine accredited by the AVMA Council on Education
- Have qualifying educational loan debt as defined in 7 CFR 3431 Section 3
- Secure an offer of employment or establish and/or maintain a practice in a designated veterinary shortage area.
- Provide certifications and verifications in accordance with 7 CFR 3431 Section 16
For more information about the FY2019 VMLRP application process, visit https://nifa.usda.gov/vmlrp-applicants or contact vmlrp@nifa.usda.gov.
While TAHC does not administer this program, comments or questions related to the shortage areas may be directed to roger.parker@tahc.texas.gov.