Candace Riehl may attend the University's College of Medicine in two years -- but she will be relying on the U.S. Air Force for her tuition, books and spending money.

Riehl (junior-premedicine) will balance her post-graduation marriage, the Air Force and medical school so she can administer primary care in places like her hometown.

Growing up, Riehl lived near Manheim, just outside Lancaster. Her family members had to drive to Lancaster if they were seriously sick. But large hospitals are not where Riehl wants to work.

"I want to get to know my patients," she said.

The price of reaching that goal will be about $100,000 in Air Force service. But with a new bill currently going through the U.S. Congress, Riehl may not have to foot the cost.

Passed by a U.S. House of Representatives subcommittee last week, the new scholarship program would combine three types of financial aid -- exceptional financial-need scholarships, scholarships for disadvantaged students and financial assistance for disadvantaged health-professional students.

The scholarships include tuition, other educational expenses and a stipend. In return, the recipients committ to a career in primary care, general dentistry, nursing or general mental health care and must serve an underprivileged area on a year-for-year basis.

Ripley Forbes, professional staffer on the U.S. House's subcommittee, said this plan helps the students and the country.

"The government is giving them the money," he said. "It's only fair to expect them to give something back."

Forbes said although there is a service attachment to the program, he does not think it will discriminate against disadvantaged students. The amount of scholarships "will not scratch the surface" of the students who need the money.

Before the bill, one of every 10 disadvantaged students received financial aid with a service attachment to the National Service Corps. If the bill is enacted, it will help three of every 10 disadvantaged students, Forbes said.

Riehl also does not think this discriminates against disadvantaged students specializing in medicine.

"If someone is that determined to get to med school, they are going to find the money somewhere," she said.

Edward E. Mills, director of student affairs at the University's College of Medicine, said there are scholarships available to students in all areas at the college, including specialties. There are enough opportunities out there for students to do it, he said.

Robert Jones, professor of family and community medicine, said the curriculum is undergoing a generalist physician initiative for two years on a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

The goal is to increase the number of primary-care graduates. This is accomplished through undergraduate recruitment, putting more primary-care faculty on admissions, requiring all students to take primary-care courses and having students work in underprivileged areas, Jones said. By 2000, college administrators want 50 percent of the students to be primary-care graduates.

Michael Socher (junior-premedicine) is paying for his college education through ROTC, which will pay for medical school with a special program for army doctors, but won't be able to take advantage of the U.S. House's proposed bill.

The new program doesn't make Socher question his decision to specialize, but he does think doctors have a certain responsibility to meet the needs of society through primary care.

"According to the Hippocratic oath, we must care for people in general," he said.

If every medical school enrolled half of its students in primary care, it would take up to 40 years to meet society's demands, Jones said.

"But not everyone is sure that 50 percent is the magic number," he said.