The SHARP Program is currently not accepting applications.

We are planning to offer SHARP-I later this year in the late summer or fall. Applications will not be available until the application cycle opens.

SHARP-I

The purpose of the SHARP-I program option is to recruit and retain selected primary health care professionals to serve in federally designated Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) in exchange for the repayment of qualifying educational loans, pursuant to a signed SHARP MOA with the State of Alaska.

SHARP: Providing Support-for-Service to Health Care Practitioners

Overview

The purpose of SHARP is to address the worsening shortage of certain health professionals in the state by increasing the number and improving the distribution of healthcare professionals who provide direct patient care. SHARP particularly focuses on increasing the access to healthcare for higher-needs populations by working to increase the recruitment and retention of selected health care practitioners. SHARP provides support-for-service to practitioners in the form of either repayment of qualifying education loans and/or payment of direct incentive, pursuant to a signed SHARP contract with the State of Alaska.

Read about Alaska's SHARP Program in the Alaska Journal of Commerce.

• State program shows success recruiting health workers

NPR Series "Our Land" Features SHARP Program Physician Working in Klukwan.

• In Rural Alaska, a Young Doctor Walks to his Patient's Bedside

Check out the article on the SHARP Program in Northwest Pulse, the e-newsletter of the Northwest Regional Primary Care Association.

• Role of Support-for-Service in the Healthcare System: Lessons from Alaska's SHARP Program

SHARP Advisory Council Member Statements

SHARP Advisory Council members provide statements on SHARP's success to date and the need for SHARP-III.

• SHARP Council Member Statements
  

SHARP-III

NOTE: SHARP-III will not be available until further notice due to statutory and regulatory development.

Alaska’s SHARP Program has a new component currently in development: SHARP-III. SHARP-III will offer a wider array of employer sites and be available to more occupations. 

Learn More about SHARP-III from these Documents

• SHARP-III Webinar Presentation
• Access this Audio Recording of the SHARP-III Webinar
  
• SHARP-III Rationale
• SHARP-III Program
• SHARP-III Definitions
• SHARP-III Council
• SHARP-III Tax Exemption
• SHARP-III Webinar Presentation Feedback Sheet
  

Service Contract

Interested parties can view an inspection copy of the current SHARP-I Memorandum of Agreement:

• SHARP-I MOA
  

Funding

SHARP is operated by the State of Alaska, Department of Health and Social Services, and is jointly supported by funds from several sources including the State of Alaska’s General Fund, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority, and the U.S. Dept. of Health & Human Services, Health Resources & Services Administration (HRSA), and required partial employer match.

What People are Saying About SHARP

SHARP is working and we're making progress!

• See what people are saying about the SHARP Program.

SHARP Employer Sites Seeking Clinicians

• Employer Sites Seeking Clinicians provides a minimum, illustrative list of employer sites that are eligible under the SHARP-I Program. The list is arranged by occupation category.

Important Notice about Concurrent Service Obligations

Concurrent service obligations are not allowed in the SHARP Program. SHARP participants can only receive one support-for-service award. In some cases an employer will offer the clinician a signing bonus and/or moving expenses as a service obligation. Clinicians who receive these benefits can participate in the SHARP Program as long as the employer stipulates that these benefits don’t constitute a service obligation.

• Alaska's SHARP program and support for service obligations.
• Cancelation letter to waive moving expenses and signing bonuses as service obligation.

Looking for a health care job in Alaska?

Frequently we are asked by clinicians interested in working in Alaska about the best way to find a job, or if we can help them find a job. We emphasize that we are not a job referral agency. In general we do not know which health care agencies are recruiting for which positions. We do, however, want clinicians and employers to get acquainted with the goal of providing health care in under-served areas of the state.

We have reached out to Alaska health care facilities and asked them to provide contact information to enabled candidates to inquire about health care opportunities. Many facilities have responded generously with the names and email addresses of staff to contact about employment. The websites of these facilities are also provided. Job searchers should go to the websites to see specifically which jobs are available.

It continues to be our mission to build the Alaska health care workforce. As employers continue to send their contact information to us we will update this list of recruiting agencies. This list is not all inclusive and only contains the information that health care facilities have sent us. You should use this list as a way to develop a network of contacts and to become better acquainted with the health care system in Alaska.

As part of your search for health care opportunities in Alaska you should also register with 3RNet, the Rural Recruitment and Retention Network for employers and candidates.

• Alaska Health Care Agencies Recruiting
  

• Robert Sewell, Ph.D., Program Director
  Alaska Division of Public Health
  Section of Health Planning & Systems Development
  P.O. Box 110610
  Juneau, AK 99811-0610
  Phone: (907) 465-4065