(a) Board-eligible or board-certified family physicians and board-eligible or board-certified general pediatricians who join the full-time faculty at one (1) of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences area health education center family practice residency program training sites or at the Department of Family and Preventive Medicine within the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences shall be eligible to receive financial assistance under this subchapter.
(b)
(1) The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences may provide financial assistance to eligible individuals for the repayment of medical student loans or personal loans made to or on behalf of a medical student.
(2) The amount of the financial assistance shall not exceed twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) per year for each year of service.
(3) An individual shall not be eligible for assistance for more than four (4) years.
(c) If the loan is from the Rural Medical Practice Student Loan and Scholarship Program, the financial assistance shall be paid directly to the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences and credited to the repayment of the loan.