USDA looking for veterinarians to practice in shortage areas

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) announced 2018 veterinary shortage areas for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). In total, NIFA has designated 187 areas across the country as having inadequate access to livestock and public health veterinarians. Now, NIFA is accepting applications for veterinarians who want to apply for a VMLRP award to serve in one of these areas. AVMA worked closely with Congress and USDA to establish the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program, which provides a total of $75,000 in student loan repayments to qualified livestock and public health veterinarians who serve at least three years in designated shortage areas. This program helps relieve the student debt burden of veterinarians and enables them to pursue rural practice without sacrificing financial stability.