Welcome to the March issue of the NHSCurrent. Every month, the NHSCurrent will help keep you up to date and assist you through your NHSC journey.

Licensure and Certification
Scholars must meet appropriate licensure and certification requirements before beginning their service commitment. Due to the variety of practices available and the national scope of the NHSC program, you are encouraged to have the broadest scope of licensure possible. Remember that States exercise their power to protect the public health and safety by regulating the practice of certain professions, which results in some variation from State to State.

MD/DO Scholars
Regardless of school or residency program requirements, all MD/DO scholars must have successfully completed steps 1, 2, and 3 of the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE), or levels 1, 2, and 3 of the Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Exam (COMLEX) by the time they complete their residency training program. If an MD/DO Scholar is unable to pass all parts of the licensing exam and obtain a license to practice medicine by the time the service commitment is scheduled to begin, that Scholar will no longer be routinely eligible for a suspension of the service obligation and may be placed in default.

The NHSC expects all MD/DO Scholars to take and pass:

• Step 1 of the USMLE or Level 1 of the COMLEX by the end of the 2nd year of their MD/DO program
• Step 2 of the USMLE or Level 2 of the COMLEX by the end of the 4th year of their MD/DO program
• Step 3 of the USMLE or Level 3 of the COMLEX by the end of the 1st year of their postgraduate (residency) training program

Dental Scholars
If you’re a dental Scholar, you need to think about where you take your licensing exams, since they are region- or State-based. Before you schedule your exams, take a look at the listing of dental vacancies and where they are located. You need to be mindful of where the opportunities exist and what boards will be acceptable for licensure in those states.

Nurse Practitioner, Physician Assistant, and Nurse-Midwifery Scholars
To obtain information on current physician assistant and nursing State laws and regulations, you can contact the State Agency for Physician Assistants at: http://www.aapa.org/pgmlist.php3 or the State Boards of Nursing at: http://www.ncsbn.org/regulation/boardsofnursing_boards_of_nursing_board.asp

Thinking About the Placement/Match Process?
If you are graduating or completing your residency between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2005, you are in the current placement/match cycle and should already be working with the NHSC Recruitment Training and Support Center (RTSC).

If you will be graduating or completing your residency between July 1, 2005, and June 30, 2006, you will be in next year's placement/match cycle. You will not be contacted regarding this process until the end of the summer of 2005. However, if you have questions about what you can do to prepare yourself prior to that time, check out our Web site at: http://nhsc.bhpr.hrsa.gov//scholar/inschool.asp#pcp

The Rising Tide: Words of Wisdom From the NHSC
Despite the many stresses of change, remember there are always opportunities wherever there is change.

Prose for Practitioners
English: Do is it hurt anywhere else?
Spanish: ¿Es lastimar en cualquier otro lugar?
French: Est-il blesser n'importe où ailleurs?
German: Ist es, irgendwoanders zu verletzen?
Russian: Delaet on ushibitb drugom meste?
Chinese: Qi ta shen me di fang teng ma?

The NHSCurrent helps shorten the distance between us and you. If you have any questions or comments, please send an email to CYoung1@hrsa.gov.