Equity in Medicine Scholar Program
Developing strong physician pipelines in underserved areas by recruiting students from these areas and encouraging them to return home to practice.
Giving Back to Medically Underserved Areas
A Scholarship Program with Heart
SGU is proud of our scholarship program offering competitive partial tuition awards to new incoming students hailing from medically underserved areas in the United States.
According to Health Resources and Services Administration, medically underserved areas are areas designated as having too few primary care providers and other factors. More information about medically underserved areas can be found here.
Students successfully completing the MD program will be designated as an Equity in Medicine Scholar, earning a medical degree with the goal of returning to communities where the need for primary care physicians is greatest.
Requirements include:
- US Citizen/Permanent Resident
- Admission to St. George’s University School of Medicine 4 yr. MD program
- Live or lived in a Medically Underserved Area in the last 3 years (MUA Find Website)
- Expresses a desire in practicing medicine in a medically underserved area
- Displays through extracurricular activities, community service and or paid employment, experience in medically underserved areas, whether in the United States or abroad
- Demonstrates financial need
Take the Next Step
Apply for the Equity in Medicine Scholar Program…
and begin the road to giving back to your community!
Application Deadlines and Award Notification
All applications will be reviewed by the scholarship committee monthly. Upon review and selection, each application will receive either an award letter or notification of declination.
DEADLINE:
July 1 for class commencing in August
December 1 for class commencing in January
March 1 for class commencing in April
Sending Doctors Where They are Needed Most
Providing Primary Care Physicians
With physician shortages looming, an uneven distribution of physicians has resulted in many inner cities and rural areas experiencing profound shortages.
According to the Association of American Colleges (AAMC), a shortage of primary care physicians and general surgeons will persist—and shortages are expected to reach up to 55,000 doctors by 2032.*
- As the largest provider of new primary care physicians in the US, SGU doctors have had a profound effect on medical care in the United States, with SGU graduates procuring residencies at a growing rate.
- One-third of currently practicing SGU graduates are practicing medicine or completing their residency in medically underserved areas.
*Data published April 2019
Meet the Recipients
Combating diabetes in New Mexico
Anders Grant spent more than 20 years as a dietitian on the East Coast and in Texas. Years later, in her 50s, she began working with families on the Navajo reservation in Crownpoint, NM, and that’s when medicine called out to her.
In her three years there, she “fell in love with the community and the people.” Aided by the Equity in Medicine scholarship at St. George’s University, Ms. Grant is committed to returning to the reservation—a medically underserved area—when she becomes a physician.
Healthcare access and education is limited in and around Crownpoint. According to Ms. Grant, it takes upward of an hour to visit with a healthcare professional, and even then, staff and resources are limited.
As an ultra marathoner, Ms. Grant is especially focused on the treatment and prevention of diabetes, working closely with children and families on the reservation to address the root of the problem—obesity. Her diet and exercise program for children yielded tremendous results and was soon adopted by many parents.
“What I really emphasized was moving,” she said. “They saw me running out there every day, which showed that I practice what I preach. If I can get the children to start improving their health now, oh my goodness, the future is unlimited.”
Combating diabetes in New Mexico
In rural America, state-of-the-art technology and a wealth of resources may only be found at a great distance. Growing up in the foothills of North Carolina, Taylor James has seen the consequences of such deficiencies firsthand—and they have shaped her career path.
As a Spanish minor, she also completed a doctor shadowing assignment in Spain, an experience she said “instilled the importance of cultural competence.” She has used her bilingualism to communicate with—and ease the minds of—Spanish-speaking patients.
While she is keeping her options open, Ms. James is leaning toward a career in primary care, to become a valuable resource in a community that needs it. She even foresees opening up her own family medicine clinic, and is grateful for the financial flexibility she has to do so through receiving the Equity in Medicine Scholarship from SGU.
“I was so shocked and so thankful to receive the scholarship,” she said. “I have really enjoyed my first few weeks here. It’s a lot of studying—which I expected—but I don’t think I expected the overwhelming amount of resources and support that we have to ensure that we’re successful.”
Learn More About This Scholarship Opportunity
Please contact our Scholarship Committee at scholarships@sgu.edu.