(a) A physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse who receives a loan under the program provided for in this article shall be a citizen or national of the United States licensed to practice his or her health care profession within the State of Georgia at the time the loan is made, and shall be a graduate of an accredited graduate medical education program or other applicable accredited health care education program located in the United States which has received accreditation or provisional accreditation by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education or the American Osteopathic Association or such other applicable accreditation for other health care education programs, as determined by the board.

(b) The board shall make a full investigation of the qualifications of an applicant for a loan under the provisions of this article to determine the applicant's fitness for participation in such loan program, and for such purposes, the board may propound such examinations to applicants as the board deems proper. The board's investigation shall include a determination of the outstanding medical or health care education loans incurred by the applicant while completing his or her medical or health care education and training.

(c) The board is authorized to consider among other criteria for granting loans under the provisions of this article the state residency status and home area of the applying physician, dentist, physician assistant, or advanced practice registered nurse and to give priority to those applicants who are physicians, dentists, physician assistants, and advanced practice registered nurses actively practicing or beginning active practice in specialties experiencing shortages or distribution problems in rural areas of this state as determined by the board pursuant to rules and regulations adopted by it in accordance with this article.

(d) The board may adopt and prescribe such rules and regulations as it deems necessary or appropriate to administer and carry out the loan program provided for in this article. Such rules and regulations shall provide for fixing the rate of regular interest to accrue on loans granted under the provisions of this article. Such regular rate of interest shall not exceed by more than 2 percent the prime rate published from time to time by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Within such limitation, the regular rate of interest may be increased for new recipients of loans under this article.