AMA Foundation Scholarship Recipient Profile

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Arthur N. Wilson, MD Scholarship Recipient Profile

Mackenzie Slater

Name: Mackenzie Slater
Hometown: Juneau, Alaska
Scholarship received: 2007 Arthur N. Wilson, MD Scholarship
Medical school: University of Washington School of Medicine
Year in school: Third year
Favorite areas of study: Primary care, public health, global health policy

What are your career goals?
I hope to practice in primary care and do international work in some capacity. Additionally, I hope to teach medical students in the clinical setting.

How did you become interested in medicine?
I first became interested in medicine as a young girl watching my mother take care of patients in rural Nepal. I love that it is a tangible skill that can directly improve people's lives. I have realized through my medical training that physicians are given a unique privilege and responsibility of being entrusted with people's lives. Medicine provides an avenue into a community that few other professions can boast. I hope to be a physician who is part of my community and values the trust my patients have in me.

How has the Arthur N. Wilson, MD Scholarship helped you?
The greatest barrier to my future work internationally will be the debt burden with which I come out of medical school. The funds provided by the Foundation will give me more freedom to practice in a setting that may not be as financially lucrative as others, but will hopefully be serving patients who will not otherwise have access to care.