The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) paid nearly $9 million in 2022 to ease the educational debt load of 89 veterinarians through the Veterinary Medicine Loan Repayment Program (VMLRP). The federal program is designed to shore up shortages in food animal practice or public practice. For years, the AVMA has successfully secured funding for the VMLRP.
The awards were for 73 new VMLRP applicants and 16 program renewals, according to a NIFA report (PDF). Most new program awardees (78%) and half of renewal awardees had over $100,000 in educational loan debt. Of those, nearly 47% carried a debt load exceeding $150,000, the report stated.
Read the full story at AVMA News.
[Source: AVMA News 27 June 2023]