Hope From the USDA!

The other day, around the time I was concluding those applications referred to in my previous entry Kristin (my wife) sent me a link for the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program. Basically, this is a Federally funded program that assists with repayment of loans taken out to finance completion of a veterinary medicine program in exchange for qualifying veterinarians agreeing to work in areas with a strong need for veterinary professionals for a set amount of time. This looks like a very good option to me because most of the areas (as of right now, at least) that have a need call for veterinarians who will work with food supply animals which is my strongest interest for specialization right now. Those that do not are primarily concerned with public health and epidemiology and a few with wildlife medicine (these two areas of specialization are also of interest to me and practicing in either field would be satisfactory to me I think). This is exactly the sort of thing I want to get involved with after I become a DVM. It's only too bad that this isn't a program that would provide support until after I've actually become a Veterinarian. This does remind me to remain diligent in keeping my eyes and ears open for programs (why don't I just say grants and scholarships?) set up specifically to assist people who wish to work in food supply animal veterinary medicine or epidemiology. If you're reading this and you find anything, let me know.