Gov. Deal Signs Bill Expanding Med School Scholarship Program

Georgia's high-need regions for medical care will be getting some relief.

Gov. Nathan Deal signed a bill yesterday that will expand a scholarship program to place medical students in areas where they are most needed to practice medicine.
The scholarship covers up to $20,000 in covering expenses for attending medical school. The bill particularly targets certain primary care and specialized medical practices.

Deal said the move will not only help communities in need, but allow recent graduates to be furnished with a job upon completion of their schooling.

"Georgia's Medical Student Scholarship program allows for us to retain our best and brightest medical doctors while also increasing access to quality medical care in Georgia's most rural areas," Deal said. "No medical student educated in Georgia should find themselves without job opportunities in their home state after graduation."

Georgia Board for Physician Workforce lauded the decision, which changes the way in-need areas are classified. The Board will decide how to define what areas the students will be placed in.