As used in the Health Professional Loan Repayment Act:

1. A. "award" means the grant of money to repay eligible education debt;
2. B. "department" means the higher education department;

3. C. "health professional" means a professional licensed pursuant to the:

   1. (1) Medical Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 6 NMSA 1978];
   2. (2) Physical Therapy Act [61-12D-1 to 61-12D-19 NMSA 1978];
   3. (3) Occupational Therapy Act [Chapter 61, Article 12A NMSA 1978];
   4. (4) Speech-Language Pathology, Audiology and Hearing Aid Dispensing Practices Act [Chapter 61, Article 14B NMSA 1978];
   5. (5) Pharmacy Act [Chapter 61, Article 11 NMSA 1978];
   6. (6) Nutrition and Dietetics Practice Act [61-7A-1 to 61-7A-15 NMSA 1978];
   7. (7) Respiratory Care Act [Chapter 61, Article 12B NMSA 1978];
   8. (8) Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy Health and Safety Act [Chapter 61, Article 14E NMSA 1978];
   9. (9) Dental Health Care Act [Chapter 61, Article 5A NMSA 1978];
   10. (10) Professional Psychologist Act [Chapter 61, Article 9 NMSA 1978];
   11. (11) Counseling and Therapy Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 9A NMSA 1978];
   12. (12) Nursing Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 3 NMSA 1978];
   13. (13) Optometry Act [Chapter 61, Article 2 NMSA 1978];
   14. (14) Chiropractic Physician Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 4 NMSA 1978];
   15. (15) Dental Amalgam Waste Reduction Act [61-5C-1 to 61-5C-6 NMSA 1978];
   16. (16) Genetic Counseling Act [61-6A-1 to 61-6A-10 NMSA 1978];
   17. (17) Polysomnography Practice Act [61-6B-1 to 61-6B-10 NMSA 1978];
   18. (18) Physician Assistant Act [Chapter 61, Article 6C NMSA 1978];
   19. (19) Anesthesiologist Assistants Act [Chapter 61, Article 6D NMSA 1978];
   20. (20) Podiatry Act [Chapter 61, Article 8 NMSA 1978];
   21. (21) Professional Psychologist Act [Chapter 61, Article 9 NMSA 1978];
   22. (22) Pharmacist Prescriptive Authority Act [61-11B-1 to 61-11B-3 NMSA 1978];
   23. (23) Massage Therapy Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 12C NMSA 1978];
   24. (24) Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 14A NMSA 1978];
   25. (25) Social Work Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 31 NMSA 1978];
   26. (26) Emergency Medical Services Act [Chapter 24, Article 10B NMSA 1978]; and
   27. (27) other health professional licensing acts as determined by the department;
4. D. "licensed physician" means a health professional who is licensed to practice medicine in New Mexico pursuant to the Medical Practice Act [Chapter 61, Article 6 NMSA 1978];
5. E. "loan" means a grant of money to defray the costs incidental to a health education, under a contract between the federal government or a commercial lender and a health professional, requiring either repayment of principal and interest or repayment in services; and

6. F. "nurse in advanced practice" means a registered nurse, including a:

   1. (1) certified nurse practitioner, certified registered nurse anesthetist or clinical nurse specialist, authorized pursuant to the Nursing Practice Act to function beyond the scope of practice of professional registered nursing; or
   2. (2) certified nurse-midwife licensed by the department of health.

History: Laws 1995, ch. 144, § 18; 2017, ch. 91, § 1; 2019, ch. 68, §1; 2021, ch. 54, § 3; 2023, ch. 66, § 1; 2026, ch. 45, § 1.

ANNOTATIONS

The 2026 amendment, effective May 20, 2026, defined "award" and "licensed physician", revised the definition of "health professional" and removed the definition of "osteopathic primary care physician" as used in the Health Professional Loan Repayment Act; added a new Subsection A and redesignated former Subsections A and B as Subsections B and C, respectively; in Subsection C, after "means a" deleted "physician, optometrist, podiatrist, physician's assistant, dentist, nurse, member of an allied health profession as defined in the Allied Health Student Loan for Service Act or a licensed or certified health professional as determined by the department" and added "professional licensed pursuant to the," and added new Paragraphs C(1) through C(27); added a new Subsection D and redesignated former Subsections C and D as Subsections E and F, respectively; and deleted former Subsection E, which defined "osteopathic primary care physician".

The 2023 amendment, effective June 16, 2023, revised the definition of "health professional" as used in the Health Professional Loan Repayment Act; and in Subsection B, after "means a", deleted "primary care".

The 2021 amendment, effective June 18, 2021, removed osteopathic physicians licensed pursuant to the Osteopathic Medicine Act from the definition of "osteopathic primary care physician", and added osteopathic physicians licensed pursuant to the Medical Practice Act to the definition of "osteopathic primary care physician"; and in Subsection E, after "pursuant to the", changed "Osteopathic Medicine" to "Medical Practice".

The 2019 amendment, effective June 14, 2019, defined "osteopathic primary care physician" as used in the Health Professional Loan Repayment Act; and added Subsection E.

The 2017 amendment, effective July 1, 2017, defined "nurse in advanced practice" as the term is used in the Health Professional Loan Repayment Act, and made technical changes; in Subsection A, deleted "‘commission’" and added "‘department’", after "means the", deleted "commission on", and after "higher education", added "department"; in Subsection B, after "as determined by the", deleted "commission" and added "department"; and added Subsection D.