New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 7 - HEALTH
Chapter 29 - PRIMARY AND RURAL HEALTH CARE SERVICES
Part 2 - NEW MEXICO HEALTH SERVICE CORPS
Section 7.29.2.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. "Advisory committee" means a committee appointed by the secretary of the department composed of representatives of the department, university of New Mexico health sciences center training departments, health professional organizations, primary care clinics and consumers for purposes of recommending student selection of commitment stipends, prioritizing a list of eligible communities and practice sites, and advising the corps on program policy.

B. "Corps" means the New Mexico health service corps, an entity of the department.

C. "Commitment stipend" means the monies provided to health professional students and licensed health professionals in return for a promise stated in a contract to serve at an eligible community or practice site in New Mexico for at least two years.

D. "Commitment stipend contract" means a contract executed between the corps and licensed health professionals or students outlining provisions of service, potential eligible communities/practice site placements, penalties and forgiveness provisions.

E. "Dental hygienist" means an individual licensed as a registered dental hygienist (R.D.H.) in New Mexico.

F. "Dentist" means an individual licensed as a doctor of dental surgery (D.D.S.) or doctor of medical dentistry (D.M.D.) in New Mexico.

G. "Department" means the New Mexico department of health.

H. "Eligible community" means a location in New Mexico that has satisfied criteria established by the department as a medically underserved area for specific health professionals.

I. "Emergency medical technician-paramedic" means a paramedic licensed to practice in New Mexico by the department.

J. "Health professional" means a licensed physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, nurse midwife, emergency medical technician-paramedic, dentist, or dental hygienist.

K. "Medically underserved area" means a community or area in New Mexico designated by the department as having a shortage of specific health professionals.

L. "Nurse-midwife" means an individual licensed by the New Mexico board of nursing and certified by the American college of nurse-midwives accreditation council.

M. "Nurse practitioner" means an individual licensed as a nurse practitioner in New Mexico.

N. "Physician" means an allopathic doctor or doctor of osteopathic medicine licensed to practice in New Mexico.

O. "Physician assistant" means a physician assistant or osteopathic physician assistant certified to practice in New Mexico.

P. "Practice site" means a public health clinic, a public or private nonprofit primary care clinic that is located in a state-designated medically underserved area or that serves a high-needs population, and that uses a sliding fee scale approved by the department.

Q. "Resident" means a licensed allopathic or osteopathic physician who is engaged in a postgraduate residency program in the following specialties: family practice, internal medicine, emergency medicine, pediatrics, dentistry, or OB-GYN.

R. "Service" means at least 1,600 hours of on-site health care during each one-year period or as negotiated with the corps, and as agreed upon in a written contract.

S. "Service contract" means a contract executed between the corps and the health professional outlining the provisions of service, eligible community/practice site placement, forgiveness and penalty provisions.

T. "Student" means a potential health professional who is domiciled in New Mexico, and is enrolled in or accepted by an accredited or otherwise approved educational program or performing their preceptorship in the fields of nurse practitioner, nurse midwifery, physician assistant, or emergency medical technician-paramedic; or participating in an allopathic or osteopathic medical residency program, clinical dental school program, dental hygiene program, or dental residency program. Persons enrolled in a clinical dental school program, dental hygiene program, or dental residency program are exempted from the requirement that they be domiciled in New Mexico.