Recruitment Assistance for Healthcare Professionals
The Office of Rural Health administers a variety of programs to assist communities and facilities in recruiting healthcare professionals. For more information on the programs below, contact the office at 1-800-738-2301.
Rural Healthcare Facility Recruitment Assistance Program
Healthcare Professional Recruitment & Retention
The 2024 Rural Healthcare Facility Recruitment Assistance Program application cycle opened on May 1, 2024. This program provides a $10,000 incentive payment to eligible health professionals who complete a three-year, full-time service commitment in a community with a population of 10,000 or less.
Recruitment Assistance Program (RAP)
The Recruitment Assistance Program (RAP) provides qualifying medical incentive payment in return for three continuous years of practice in an eligible rural community.
Rural Healthcare Facility Recruitment Assistance Program (RHFRAP)
The Rural Healthcare Facility Recruitment Assistance Program provides a $10,000 payment to eligible health professionals who complete a three-year, full-time service commitment.
South Dakota State Loan Repayment Program (SLRP)
This program is for primary care providers, mental health providers, and dental health providers practicing in rural and urban Health Professional Shortage Areas in South Dakota.
Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSAs)
HPSAs are areas, populations, or facilities experiencing a shortage of primary, dental, or mental health care providers.
More Recruitment Assistance Opportunities
A 4-week summer program designed to bring health profession graduates back to rural South Dakota for rewarding careers. Students, selected in a competitive process, are enrolled in one of the following programs at DWU, MMC, PC, SDSU, or USD: bachelor of nursing, clinical psychology, family nurse practitioner, medical doctor, medical laboratory science, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, pharmacy, and social work. After selection, students are placed in interprofessional pairs in communities with a critical access hospital and a population under 13,000 people.
3RNet is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to healthcare recruitment in rural and underserved communities.
Helpful recruitment resources for employers, communities, and healthcare professionals.
- Build Dakota Scholarship - Scholarships awarded to skilled scholars entering high-need workforce programs at South Dakota technical institutes.
- South Dakota Opportunity Scholarship – Allows South Dakota’s most academically accomplished high school graduates to receive an affordable education at any university, college, or technical school in South Dakota.
- Dakota Corps Scholarship Program – Allows students financial access to outstanding post-secondary education, while encouraging them to remain in South Dakota upon graduation working in critical need occupations.