Step 1: Prepare for Nurse Corps Service

Nurse Corps Scholarship Program scholars must begin employment at an eligible Critical Shortage Facility with either a mental health or primary care Health Professional Shortage Area score of 14 or higher within nine months of graduation.

On this page

• Nurse Corps Transition to Service process
• Communicating with Nurse Corps
• Ask a question
• Review your service commitment
• Understand your clinical service requirements
• Understand Critical Shortage Facilities (CSF)
• Understand HPSA scores and how they affect your service obligation
• Suspensions, waivers, and deferments

Nurse Corps Transition to Service process

Your employment search process and converting you from student/training to a licensed clinician working toward your service obligation is officially referred to as the Nurse Corps Transition to Service process. A regional analyst is assigned to provide administrative support throughout this process to ensure you successfully transition into your service obligation. However, you are responsible for communicating with potential employers and obtaining a job offer.

Follow this Nurse Corps Transition to Service step-by-step guidance to successfully conduct your employment search and comply with all program requirements.

To prepare for service, you must:

1. Communicate with your assigned analyst using My BHW.
2. Review your Nurse Corps service commitment.
3. Review your practice hour requirements.
4. Understand Nurse Corps-approved sites.
5. Understand Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) scores and how they impact your service obligation.

Communicating with Nurse Corps

• As a scholar, you will receive a message in the My BHW notifying you of an Inquiry that you will use for all employment-related correspondence.
• This inquiry is listed under “My Activities” with an “Open” status.
• To communicate directly with a regional analyst using this Inquiry:
  1. Go to your portal home page, view “My Activities” box, select Inquiry (Open).
  2. Select Contact Us at the bottom of the message to directly reply to the Nurse Corps analyst.
• Alerts from noreply@hrsa.gov are sent to your personal email, notifying you of a new portal message.
• Use this Inquiry to communicate with an Nurse Corps regional analyst. The regional analyst will provide administrative support and answer all employment-related questions throughout your job search process.

Note: If you have other questions (such as programmatic, disbursements, or half-time conversion requests), go to Ask a Question in the My BHW Portal, located in the lower left bottom of your screen.

Ask a question

Note: If you have other questions regarding tuition, stipends, or post-graduate training, go to Ask a Question in My BHW.

To communicate directly with an analyst using the Question (ID#):

1. Go to Activities/Activity Type/Question (ID#).

2. At the bottom of the page, select Contact Us to directly reply to your analyst.
3. Also use My BHW to update your personal contact information, and upload employment documents.

Review your service commitment

• Start working at a Critical Shortage Facility (CSF) within nine months of graduation or the end of your training, as required by your NC contract.
• Make sure the CSF has a mental health or primary care Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) score of 14 or higher.
• Consult the Nurse Corps Application and Program Guidance (APG) (PDF - 486 KB) to understand your service commitment, eligible site types, work hour requirements, financial responsibilities, and legal obligations.
• You may be employed at multiple work sites if they are within a single network or employer. All sites must be active Nurse Corps sites with a primary care or mental health HPSA of 14 or higher.

Understand your clinical service requirements

• Full-Time: Work at least 32 hours per week, with a minimum of 26 hours dedicated to clinical services or direct patient care at the approved site.
• Part-Time: Work between 16 and 31 hours per week. Note that part-time service (less than 32 hours a week) will lengthen your service period.
• If you start full-time or part-time and wish to switch, you can request this change through My BHW by selecting “Ask A Question.”

Understand Critical Shortage Facilities (CSF)

• A CSF is a health care facility with a significant shortage of nurses, located in or serving a primary care or mental HPSA.
• All eligible CSF sites are listed in our database and marked as “Nurse Corps-Approved” sites.

Understand HPSA scores and how they affect your service obligation

• HPSA scores: These scores indicate how much a health area needs professionals. They range from 0 (lowest need) to 26 (highest need) and can change over time. They are set in collaboration with states and counties.
• HPSA categories: There are three types—primary care, dental, and mental health.
• Finding HPSA scores:
  • Use HPSA Find: Go to Tools and select "Shortage Area by Address" to search for scores.
  • Use the Health Workforce Connector: Enter the site’s location and click Search. Then, under the Sites tab, choose a site to view its HPSA scores.
• Nurse Corps requirements: To fulfill your service obligation, your site must have a mental health or primary care HPSA score of 14 or higher.

Post-graduation training, suspensions, and waivers

Notify the Nurse Corps Scholarship Program if you are unable to search for employment or start your service commitment as planned:

1. Inform your analyst immediately.
2. Submit a post-graduation training, suspension, or waiver request via My BHW. Your assigned analyst cannot submit the request for you.

Post-graduation training

Interested in completing a residency prior to starting your Nurse Corps service? Learn about post-graduation training options.

Suspensions

A suspension provides a temporary pause of the nine-month employment search period.

How to request: Submit request with required documentation via “Ask a Question” in My BHW.

Required documentation by suspension type:

• Failure to obtain licensure—granted if you do not pass your licensing exam within the nine-month employment search period.
  • Written request for a licensure suspension,
  • Submission of all failed test results,
  • Proof of registration to retake the exam, and
  • Final transcript showing degree conferral date
• Medical or personal hardship—granted if you are temporarily unable to serve or search for employment due to medical conditions or difficult personal circumstances.
  • Written request for a medical or personal hardship suspension which includes the requested start and end date of the suspension,
  • Narrative letter from a health care provider, which includes diagnosis, prognosis, treatment plan, and the expected duration of treatment, and
  • Final transcript showing degree conferral date.
• Parental leave—granted for the birth or adoption of a child.
  • Written request for a parental leave suspension including the start and end dates, up to 12 weeks in length. You may request a longer period of leave based on your state’s maternity/paternity/adoption laws or medical recommendation,
  • Narrative from doctor confirming pregnancy and due date OR legal documents confirming you are adopting a child, and
  • Final transcript showing degree conferral date.
• Called to active duty in the armed forces—granted if you are a military reservist and are called to active duty during the allotted nine months to find placement, prior to beginning their service obligation. This only applies if you are a reservist. Enlisting in the military after accepting an NCSP award is a breach of contract.
  • Written request for an active-duty suspension including the start and end dates of the suspension,
  • Copy of military orders, and
  • Final transcript showing degree conferral date.

Waivers

Granted only in extreme hardship cases and is rarely approved. A waiver permanently relieves you of all or part of the Nurse Corps service or payment obligation. Waivers are rarely granted and require a demonstration of compelling circumstances.

How to request: Within the “I want to…” card on the My BHW homepage, select “Request a Waiver of My Service Obligation” and provide the required information.

Contact us

Call 1-800-221-9393
(TTY: 1-877-897-9910) M – F, 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. ET
(except federal holidays)
Email us or GetHelp@hrsa.gov
My BHW, select Ask a Question