Preparing for Medical School

Scholarships awarded to increase physician workforce diversity

. 2 MIN READ

Eleven outstanding medical students from across the country were announced earlier this month as recipients of Minority Scholars Awards from the AMA Foundation. This year marks the 10th anniversary of this scholarship program, which seeks to promote diversity, encourage the elimination of health care disparities and alleviate the high cost of medical education.

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The awards recognize scholastic achievement, financial need and commitment to improving minority health among first and second-year students in historically underrepresented groups in the medical profession. Less than 9 percent of U.S. physicians fall within these groups, which include African American/Black, American Indian, Native Hawaiian, Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latino.

The Minority Scholars Awards are given in partnership with the AMA Minority Affairs Section (MAS), with support from Pfizer Inc. The National Business Group on Health partially supports one scholarship in honor of the late Ronald M. Davis, MD, past-president of the AMA, which is granted to a minority medical student who has an interest in primary care. Additional support is provided by the AMA-MAS Governing Council and other generous donors. 

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Medical student sitting on a stack of textbooks

The 2014 scholarship recipients are:

  • Brittany Bruce, University of Kansas School of Medicine
  • Candice Carpenter, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine
  • Katia Chavez, University of Vermont College of Medicine
  • Nicolas Fletcher, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine
  • Rosibel Hernandez, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA
  • Terrell Holloway, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
  • Jasmine Lemmons, Drexel University College of Medicine
  • Oscar Padilla, Tufts University School of Medicine
  • Laura Ramirez, Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine
  • Jalia Tucker, Chicago Medical School at Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science
  • Kathryn Harris, Meharry Medical College—Dr. Richard Allen Williams & Genita Evangelista Johnson /Association of Black Cardiologists Scholarship

The AMA Foundation and the Association of Black Cardiologists (ABC) partnered last year to create a scholarship that will promote diversity in medicine, encourage commitment to eliminating health care disparities and support future cardiologists. 

The Dr. Richard Allen Williams & Genita Evangelista Johnson /Association of Black Cardiologists Scholarship recognizes a first- or second-year African-American medical student with an expressed interest in cardiology. This scholarship was awarded for the first time this year.

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