Incoming Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine students interested in becoming primary care doctors could have their tuition paid if they return to the health system as physicians through a new program announced Wednesday.
“With medical school being so expensive, this is really a wonderful opportunity to help our students graduate with no debt,” said Michelle Schmude, dean of admissions.
Tuition relief will be available for up to 40 students per class under the new Primary Care Scholars program, said Dr. Steven J. Scheinman, president and dean of Geisinger Commonwealth School of Medicine. If accepted into the program, scholars will also receive a $2,000 monthly stipend so they will no longer have to borrow for living expenses.
The program, funded through Geisinger’s operating budget, requires students commit to return to work in the health system after their residency training and practice family medicine, internal medicine or pediatrics.
Scheinman said the need for both tuition relief and primary care doctors is great locally and nationwide. Primary care also pays less than specialized fields, he added.
The program was modeled on the United States military, which pays for students’ medical school tuition in exchange for four years of service in the branch they enlisted in, Scheinman said.
He believes it’s the first of its kind at a medical school.
With Geisinger on the cutting edge of primary care since their redesign in 2017, he said the medical school is becoming a premier destination to be trained in the field.
The redesign focuses on preventing disease, not just managing disease, he said. Geisinger also offers more resources for patients including the Fresh Food Farmacy, which helps patients with diabetes who also struggle to put food on the table; 65 Forward, which offers health care and facilities catering to people over 65; Geisinger at Home, a home health program that brings health workers to chronically ill patients; and MyCode Community Health Initiative, a genetic research program.
“These students will come to the medical school where the curriculum will be enhanced in regards to primary care and experience these programs which are really unique,” he said.
Dr. Jerry Maloney, chief medical officer of Geisinger Hospitals, said there is constant discussion on how to decrease the amount of debt the medical students incur.
He was still paying medical school loans when his own kids were entering college.
Incoming students and current first- and second-year students can apply for the program, Scheinman said.
He stressed that Primary Care Scholars is not a scholarship program and if the students do not return to Geisinger to work, they will have to pay the tuition back.
“Unlike the military, where the majority of military students do their obligation and get out, our hope is that you’ll stay with Geisinger,” Maloney said.
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