Newsletters

The 2013 National Health Service Corps’ Virtual Job Fair schedule is officially underway! In January, the Corps hosted an informational Webinar for NHSC-approved sites interested in participating in a Virtual Job Fair in 2013. This Webinar explained what is required of sites to participate in a job fair and provided information on how to make an effective Virtual Job Fair presentation.

Next month, the NHSC will host its first Virtual Job Fair of the year, featuring available primary care positions at NHSC-approved Indian Health Service health centers and Tribal Clinics. The Virtual Job Fair will take place on Tuesday, March 19, from 7:00 – 10:00 p.m. ET.

Sites participating in the event are located in Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming. This event will be open to providers working in all NHSC-eligible primary care disciplines (medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health). If you are a provider and interested in participating in this event, please email NHSCVirtualJobFair@hrsa.gov.

In summer and fall 2013, the Corps will host a series of scholar-focused Virtual Job Fairs. Virtual Job Fairs will be NHSC sites’ primary opportunity to recruit NHSC Scholars this year. A Scholar Orientation and Placement (SOAP) Conference will not be held in 2013. Instead, NHSC Virtual Job Fairs will replace the recruitment fair previously held at the annual conference. If you are a site that is NHSC Scholar eligible, we encourage you to sign up and participate in one of these events.

For more information about upcoming Virtual Job Fairs, please visit the NHSC Web site or email NHSCVirtualJobFair@hrsa.gov. Please feel free to share information on the upcoming Virtual Job Fair with other providers who might be interested in participating.

It was another busy year for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) --from continuing to implement the Administration’s historic healthcare reform law to delivering new programs and strategies to tackle some of the country’s most formidable and intransigent health problems; from providing needed human services every day to responding to natural disasters where and when they occurred -- the Department continued to make a vital difference in the lives of Americans. Watch as Secretary Sebelius discusses 2012: The HHS Year in Review.

The NHSC would like to thank our featured members and alumni for taking part in the “40 Clinicians in 40 Weeks” series and sharing their experiences as  providers within the NHSC community. Starting last April, the NHSC showcased one of their member stories each week on the NHSC Web site and Facebook page to help honor 40 years since the Corps made its first award.

Each member story was selected for the dedication and commitment of the clinician and passion for helping those who need care most. These stories will remain on the NHSC Web site and we encourage our providers to share updates about their experiences. The NHSC knows these 40 stories are not the exception – each member of the Corps has a compelling story about how he or she is making a difference in their community. If you are interested in sharing your own unique NHSC experience or if you work with a colleague who has a great story to tell, please email NHSCStories@hrsa.gov.  Thank you to all of our providers for continuing to serve our communities in need.

February 14 is National Donor Day, which focuses on the urgent need for donating blood, platelets, organs, tissues, and blood stem cells.  Did you know that 116,860 people are waiting for an organ transplant and each day 18 will die waiting? Educate your patients about the great need for these life-saving gifts throughout the country. Encourage them to sign up to become a donor and to tell their family and friends about their decision. Share information with them when they have questions. Check out organdonor.gov for additional resources, including: The Gift of Life brochure and the Organ, Eye, and Tissue Donation for People 50 and Over booklet.

The 2013 NHSC Loan Repayment Program Application Cycle is opening soon!  This year’s application cycle will open in winter 2013, so if you have colleagues at your site who are interested in and would benefit from loan repayment, encourage them to submit their application as soon as the cycle opens.  Learn more about the application requirements and key dates, by reviewing the application checklist.

The Loan Repayment Program is open to eligible primary care medical, dental, and mental and behavioral health care providers. Providers who are currently working at an NHSC-approved site or have a contract in place to begin working at the site are eligible to apply for the program.

To stay up-to-date on the NHSC Loan Repayment Program and the 2013 application cycle, visit the NHSC website.

Login to PrimaryCareForAll.hrsa.gov this month to participate in an upcoming live webinar or coffee shop discussion. View the full calendar of events and enroll now! Live webinars address hot topics in public health and offer practical tips for implementing them into your practice. Virtual coffee shop discussions feature subject-matter experts and the opportunity to ask questions and connect with other NHSC members and alumni working across the country. NHSC clinicians, scholars and alumni have complimentary access to this useful resource!

Presbyterian Medical Services (PMS) is the successor to the United Presbyterian Church's Medical Mission work in the Southwest, which began in 1901. In 1969, an independent PMS was formed as a New Mexico non-profit corporation to ensure continuation of health care services to the underserved communities throughout the Southwest. PMS’s greatest success is their collaboration with communities, providers, hospitals, and local, state, and federal government entities to develop programs that meet the needs of local residents -- many of whom are at or below the poverty level -- for more than 40 years. They provide comprehensive services, including primary medical and dental care, behavioral health, children's services (Head Start, Early Head Start, Pre-K, Home Visiting, and Early Intervention Services), home care, hospice, and senior programs. PMS has approximately 1,100 employees working in almost 100 programs in 38 communities throughout New Mexico.

Since the early 1990s, PMS has recruited hundreds of NHSC providers through the Loan Repayment and Scholarship Programs. On a yearly basis, PMS recruits approximately 20-35 providers. Since the launch of the NHSC Jobs Center in May 2012, PMS has recruited an additional 13 providers. Presbyterian Medical Services was involved from the very beginning of the development of the Jobs Center, serving as a beta test site. Of these 13 providers, only 8 were actually seeking loan repayment. The others were providers with a sincere career interest in serving underserved populations. Learn more about PMS and its innovative practices.

As of January 1, 2013, all NHSC sites are now required to have a completed Site Profile to continue to post and manage open positions on the NHSC Jobs Center.  More than 4,700 sites  have completed a profile – thank you! Numerous NHSC sites that have completed Site Profiles have seen a dramatic increase in the number of provider inquiries about open positions posted on the NHSC Jobs Center.

To have a complete site profile, six elements need to be created (site description, hours, services provided, languages spoken, size of the site and services offered).  The instructions can be accessed on the NHSC Web page.  You can view a video to take you through the steps to create a site profile (include “profile” in link) and see how beneficial a site profile can be to your recruitment efforts.  

Sites are continuing to create their profiles at a steady pace. Since the end of the October, we have seen a 34 percent increase in the number of sites that have created their profile. However, all sites that would like to continue to post and manage jobs on the NHSC Jobs Center need complete their profile immediately.  If sites have any questions they can call the Customer Care Center at 1-800-221-9393 or email gethelp@hrsa.gov.

Congratulations to NHSC Scholar and National Advisory Council Member, Dr. Jay Bhatt, who recently received the 2013 Leadership Award from the American Medical Association’s (AMA) Foundation.  This award honors a select group of physicians and medical students who exemplify the medical profession's highest values: commitment to service, community involvement, altruism, leadership and dedication to patient care.  

* This publication may contain non-Federal resources in order to provide additional information to consumers. The views and content in these resources have not been formally approved by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) or the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). Listing these resources is not an endorsement by HHS or HRSA.

NHSC in the News

• Federal program helps UF medical resident serve the underserved (January 2, 2013: The Gainesville Sun)
• Obamacare's Med-School Debt Problem (January 2, 2013: The Village Voice)
• Seneca Nation’s Chief Dental Officer Named ‘Provider of the Year’ (January 16, 2013: MetroWNY)
• Health Care: What Will Obama Do Next? (January 17, 2013: The Root)

Save the Date – Corps Community Day will take place on October 10, 2013

The NHSC is uniting once again to celebrate the work of our Corps members and to emphasize the importance of primary health care by holding the 3rd Annual Corps Community Day  on Thursday, October 10, 2013. As in past years, the event will be held during the American Medical Student Association’s National Primary Care Week (October 7-11, 2013). 

It’s not too early to start planning your Corps Community Day activities. Looking for ideas?  Check out the Corps Community Day 2012 map where you’ll find details from the 148 events planned last year. Also, a 2013 workgroup is currently being formed.  If you’re interested in helping to plan this national celebration, please email CorpsCommunityDay@hrsa.gov. 

NHSC Wants to Hear From You!
Do you have a story suggestion or a way that we can improve Corps Connections? We’d love to hear from you! Send your feedback to: CorpsConnections@hrsa.gov.