The Family Medicine Loan Repayment Incentive is designed to strengthen the physician workforce in rural and underserved communities across the state by ensuring that family doctors continue to live and practice in Tennessee after residency training.

This program will provide loan repayment of up to $40,000 per year to eligible family medicine residents for up to five years in return for a five-year work commitment in Tennessee following residency training. Selected applicants may receive up to $200,000 over five years.

The TNAFP Foundation Board will review and select applicants annually. Once participants are selected, the Foundation and the Tennessee Center for Workforce Development (TCWD) will initiate the agreement with the recipient. TCWD will provide annual payments of $40,000 for up to five years, and TNAFP will collect quarterly reports from the recipients to verify commitments are met.

The sum of student loan repayment grants made to a qualifying physician will not exceed the physician’s total student loan indebtedness. Incentive funds may only be used for educational loan repayment.

Please note that the TNAFP Foundation Board of Directors must approve each awardee’s practice site. Site approval is at the sole discretion of the TNAFP Foundation Board of Directors and the Foundation is not obligated to approve any site.

Requirements to Apply: 

• Applicants must be enrolled in one of Tennessee’s 12 family medicine residency programs. 
• Applicants may apply for the incentive starting in their intern year of a Tennessee Family Medicine residency program and remain eligible to apply until they finish residency training.
• Applicants must be willing to commit to spending five years practicing at an approved location in the state post-residency.
• Applicants must be able to provide eligibility documentation, including: 
• Demographic information
• Proof of student loan debt with a recognized financial institution
• Proof of US citizenship or permanent residency status
• Medical school transcript 
• Personal statement regarding desire and intent to practice with rural location
• Letter of recommendation from the program director of the family medicine training program

Questions? Contact TNAFP Communications and Program Specialist Ella Painter at epainter@tnafp.org or (615) 370-5144.

This project is funded under a Grant Contract with the State of Tennessee.

Nondiscrimination statement: The TNAFP Foundation encourages all eligible individuals to apply for the Family Medicine Loan Repayment Incentive. No applicant shall be excluded or be otherwise subjected to discrimination on the grounds of handicap or disability, age, race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or any other classification protected by Federal, Tennessee State constitutional, or statutory law.

All FQHCs, free/charitable clinics, critical access hospitals and state mental health institutes qualify in any county.