Rule 195-11-.02. Eligibility Criteria for Initial Scholarship Awards

1. (1) Scholarships recipients must be bonafide citizens of the United States and legal residents of Georgia at the time of the initial scholarship award.
2. (2) Applicants must have received a letter of acceptance to an accredited medical school in the United States, offering an education program leading to the Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy degree.
3. (3) Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to specialize in a field of medicine appropriate to meeting the needs of rural communities in Georgia. Such specialties are determined at the sole discretion of the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce, and as of July 1, 2014 for new scholarship recipients, include family medicine, general internal medicine, and general pediatrics. State General Appropriations will be used to fund scholarships for these specialties only.

4. (4) Applicants must demonstrate a strong commitment to practice medicine on a full-time basis, at least 40 hours per week, in a practice location approved by the Georgia Board for Physician Workforce. Practice locations approved by the Board for the primary care specialties of family medicine, general internal medicine, and general pediatrics include rural counties in Georgia of 50,000 population or less according to the United States decennial census of 2010 or any future census, or in an area of this state which is rural and underserved by primary care physicians as determined by the Board, or in designated state facilities operated under the jurisdiction of the Georgia Department of Public Health, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice, Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, or the Georgia Department of Corrections. For scholarship recipients receiving initial awards prior to July 1, 2014 and have not yet begun their service obligation, practice locations for Obstetrics/Gynecology and other critical need specialties include regional areas composed of counties located in rural Georgia where an unmet need for physicians exists as determined by the Board and approved by the commissioners of Community Health and Public Health.

   1. a. Financial need shall be used as one criterion for the award of scholarships. In considering financial need, the Board shall take into account the financial resources of the applicant and the total cost of tuition, books, fees, and other expenses at the medical school in which the applicant is enrolled. Reporting of financial resources shall be based on information submitted by the applicant and his/her parents on the financial disclosure forms provided with the scholarship application along with a copy of the most recent federal tax return.
5. (5) Applicants must be of good character and be academically and emotionally well qualified to prepare for a career in medicine, with special attention to attributes, experience, and qualities determined by the Board to be necessary for successful medical practice in rural communities. Life experience in a rural community is one factor often considered by the Board in determining an applicant's qualifications for the scholarship award.

Authority: O.C.G.A. §§ 20-3-510, 20-3-512.

History. Original Rule entitled "Eligibility Criteria for Initial Scholarship Awards" adopted. F. Nov. 27, 2012; eff. Dec. 17, 2012.

Amended: F. Aug. 28, 2013; eff. Sept. 17, 2013.

Amended: F. Jul. 29, 2014; eff. Aug. 18, 2014.

Amended: F. Dec. 15, 2015; eff. Jan. 4, 2016.

Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. July 31, 2018; eff. August 20, 2018.