Taj Singh, MD, took the circuitous route to becoming a doctor, starting out as a high school chemistry teacher before deciding to take the plunge at Temple\/St. Luke\u2019s Lewis Katz School of Medicine.<\/p>\n
Now an internal medicine resident with St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network, Singh is following in the footsteps of his father, who was a primary care physician in Mahanoy City, and his sister, who is an oral surgeon.<\/p>\n
While medical school is typically the start of a rewarding career, it\u2019s an expensive first step. Debt accrual is a fact of life for many medical students; around 70% of medical school graduates nationwide carry some student loan debt accumulating from tuition, fees, and living expenses.<\/p>\n
Singh and several of his Temple\/St. Luke\u2019s School of Medicine classmates were able to take advantage of a unique St. Luke\u2019s debt relief program. It begins with a $20,000 \u201cMatch Award\u201d stipend at the time of residency placement, and for those who choose to remain with St. Luke\u2019s after completing their training, the program may provide up to $175,000 in total loan repayment support.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Network is really encouraging students who grew up here and went to medical school here to stay in the area with a financial incentive that gives the medical students and residents a backing to stay in this community,\u201d said Singh, a graduate of Parkland High School and Muhlenberg College.<\/p>\n
St. Luke\u2019s established the Match Debt Relief Program in 2020 to provide tuition reimbursement to select medical students who choose to work at St. Luke’s after graduation and pursue a career in family medicine or internal medicine. The program has since expanded to also include psychiatry and pediatrics.<\/p>\n
The debt relief offered to each recipient depends upon the program and the years the student-turned-resident commits to continuing their career at the Network.<\/p>\n
Before the match debt relief program, Temple\/St. Luke\u2019s medical students were already benefitting from significantly reduced tuition thanks to generous donors. The match debt relief program helps residents as they move through years of specialty training.<\/p>\n
In 2025, Temple\/St. Luke’s graduates who received the match debt relief and are now St. Luke\u2019s residents include Singh, Kyle Tio, MD, Brianna Talbot, MD, Roshanara Diaz Mejia, MD, Kelly Riccio, MD and Patrick Foran, MD. At least 20 medical student graduates-turned-residents have been benefactors of the program since 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s an incredible program,\u201d Singh said. \u201cIt helps me to not worry about the financial part and allows me to put more of my efforts into patient care and our community. I grew up in this community and trained in this community that cares about me, and now I am able to give back to this same community. It is a special feeling. There is a significant financial burden to become a physician, and getting this financial assistance gives me that much more confidence to practice medicine in my home area.\u201d<\/p>\n
Photo caption: (L-R): Dr. Kelly Riccio; Dr. Taj Singh; Dr. Kyle Tio; Dr. Brianna Huang-Talbot; James P. Orlando, Chief Graduate Medical Education Officer; Dr. Shaden Eldakar-Hein, Senior Associate Dean, Temple\/St. Luke’s School of Medicine.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
About St. Luke\u2019s<\/strong><\/p>\n Founded in 1872, St. Luke\u2019s University Health Network (SLUHN) is a fully integrated, regional, non-profit network with annual net revenue of more than $4 billion. With 23,000+ employees at 16 hospital campuses and 350+ outpatient sites, it is the Lehigh Valley\u2019s biggest employer.<\/p>\n The Network\u2019s service area includes 11 counties in two states: Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, Bucks, Carbon, Montgomery, Monroe, Schuylkill and Luzerne counties in Pennsylvania and Warren and Hunterdon counties in New Jersey. St. Luke\u2019s hospitals operate the largest network of trauma centers in Pennsylvania, with the Bethlehem Campus being home to St. Luke\u2019s Children\u2019s Hospital.<\/p>\n Dedicated to advancing medical education, St. Luke\u2019s is the preeminent teaching hospital in central-eastern Pennsylvania. In partnership with Temple University, the Network established the Lehigh Valley\u2019s first and only four-year medical school. It also operates the nation\u2019s oldest School of Nursing, established in 1884, and 50+ fully accredited graduate medical educational programs with 500+ residents and fellows.<\/p>\n St. Luke\u2019s has been named a Leapfrog Group and Healthgrades Top Hospital and a Newsweek World\u2019s Best Hospital. It is the only Lehigh Valley-based health care system to earn Medicare\u2019s five-star ratings (the highest) for quality, efficiency and patient satisfaction. In 2025, the Network earned straight A\u2019s from Leapfrog across all of its 11 acute care hospitals. It has earned 100 Top Hospital designations from Premier 11 years in a row, including in 2021 when its flagship University Hospital was identified as THE #1 TEACHING HOSPITAL IN THE COUNTRY. Utilizing the Epic electronic medical record (EMR) system for both inpatient and outpatient services, the Network is a multi-year recipient of the Most Wired award recognizing the breadth of SLUHN\u2019s information technology applications such as telehealth, online scheduling and online pricing information.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Information provided to TVL by: Taj Singh, MD, took the circuitous route to becoming a doctor, starting out as a high school chemistry teacher before deciding to take the plunge at Temple\/St. Luke\u2019s Lewis Katz … Continue reading Tuition Reimbursement for Medical School Students<\/span>
\nSam Kennedy<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"