Source: Texas Animal Health Commission | March 7, 2019

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) is now accepting Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP) applications for the eight Texas areas designated as veterinary services shortage situations.

Applications may be submitted through 5:00 pm on April 12, 2019. The VMLRP is authorized by the National Veterinary Medical Services Act (NVMSA) and helps qualified veterinarians offset a significant portion of debt incurred while pursuing their veterinary medicine degrees in return for at least three years of service in a designated veterinary shortage area. 

Eligible veterinarians are encouraged to apply for the VMLRP. The criteria are listed below:

1. Have a degree of Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM), or the equivalent, from a college of veterinary medicine accredited by the AVMA Council on Education.
2. Have qualifying educational loan debt as defined in 7 CFR 3431 Section 3.
3. Secure an offer of employment or establish and/or maintain a practice in a designated veterinary shortage area. View the Texas shortage areas [HERE]:
4. Provide certifications and verification in accordance with 7 CFR 3431 Section 16

USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture will be offering a webinar for interested veterinarians to provide an in-depth explanation of the VMLRP on Wednesday, March 13, at 7:00 am (CT). Visit their website [HERE] for more information.

Texas Animal Health Commission (TAHC) will also offer a webinar for interested Texas veterinary applicants. Scheduling and information for the webinar will be emailed out and posted on TAHC’s website [HERE].

For more information about the FY 2019 VMLRP application process, visit [HERE] or contact vmlrp@nifa.usda.gov. While the TAHC does not administer this program, comments or questions related to the shortage areas may be directed to roger.parker@tahc.texas.gov.