The purpose of the Nursing Student Loan for Service Act is to meet the emergency currently existing resulting from the shortage of nurses in the underserved areas of the state by increasing the number of practitioners in rural areas through a program of loans for nursing students. The program will require as a condition of each loan that the student declare intent prior to the granting of the loan that the nurse will practice nursing within one of the areas of the state designated as an underserved area by the commission [department].