EAST LANSING, Mich. - In an effort to help relieve some of the massive debt-load medical students face after graduation, the Ingham County Medical and Scientific Trust has donated $88,000 to the Michigan State University College of Human Medicine (CHM) for scholarship purposes.
The scholarships will benefit "worthy and capable students enrolled at CHM, with preference given to those students who have graduated from a high school in the mid-Michigan area," said Ronald Horowitz, president of the Ingham County Medical Society, sponsor and supporter of the trust.
Potential scholarship recipients also must demonstrate excellence in clinical evaluation, a traditionally strong quality in CHM students, who train in one of six communities throughout Michigan.
When this grant program was first established in 1950, its goal was to help fund scientific and medical research.
"The current financial responsibilities of medical education result in enormous debt after four years of medical training," Horowitz said. "The society believes that the Scientific Trust funds should be used to assist the next generation of physicians. The society would like the recipients of this scholarship to pass the grant and their concern for patient care to future generations of physicians."
"Scholarship support is key to both attracting and retaining good students," said Glenn C. Davis, dean of the MSU College of Human Medicine. "I am especially pleased that the Ingham County Medical Society and the trust have seen fit to endow a scholarship for mid-Michigan students.
"We are a medical school committed to our communities," Davis said. "This scholarship shows that our communities are committed to us."
At CHM, medical students spend their first two years on campus and their final two years training at one of six communities in Michigan - Flint, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Lansing, Saginaw and the Upper Peninsula.
According to the American Association of Medical Colleges, medical students face an average debt-load of approximately $100,000 upon graduation.
The MSU College of Human Medicine was established in 1964 in response to the state of Michigan's need for primary care physicians. Since then, the college has become a national leader in the training of doctors who not only treat the diseases that affect the human system but also never lose sight of their patients as individuals deserving compassion and respect.
The Ingham County Medical Society was established in 1901 "to improve the standards of medical practice and public health and promote the general welfare of its members."