How can we best prepare for the challenges of the future of healthcare? One way is by listening to the physicians of tomorrow. As part of a commitment to supporting the doctors of the future, BoardVitals awarded its fifth annual Medical School Scholarship to three winners.
For the 2024 BoardVitals Medical School Scholarship, we asked current medical students and residents to answer the question: “Reflect on your personal connection to a specific medical specialty. What experiences or encounters led you to choose this specialty, and how do you envision contributing to its advancement in the future?”
This year we received a record number of entries, and our team of judges narrowed down the essays to a few standouts.
Check out the winners:
1st Place: Anthony Dove
Anthony is a medical student at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, specializing in Interventional Cardiology. He is a huge Star Wars fan, and as a new father, is excited to share the franchise with his son one day. Anthony is also a certified scuba diver, and can’t wait to get back in the water after finishing medical school.
Anthony is the founder of Brothers in Medicine and is a Member of Sigma Sigma Phi. In his essay, he writes about losing his uncle to a pulmonary embolism, and how he has focused on community outreach in his medical education journey. Here is an excerpt:
“Growing up in a household where healthcare was not just a profession but a way of life, I witnessed firsthand the unwavering dedication of my mother, a nurse, as she tirelessly cared for patients with compassion and expertise. Her commitment instilled in me a profound sense of empathy and ignited a desire to effect real change in the lives of others, particularly in combating prevalent medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease. The impact of these diseases hit close to home when my family experienced the loss of my uncle to a pulmonary embolism. His passing served as a stark reminder of the urgent need for proactive intervention and education in cardiovascular health. It was this tragic event that solidified my determination to pursue a career in cardiology, with a specific focus on intervention to prevent similar losses in the future.
Throughout my medical journey, I have been actively involved in community outreach initiatives aimed at addressing healthcare disparities and promoting preventive care. As the founder of “Brothers in Medicine,” an organization dedicated to providing free healthcare screenings in non-traditional settings such as barber shops, churches, nail salons, and local community events, I have witnessed the transformative power of grassroots healthcare initiatives. Through “Brothers in Medicine,” we have conducted numerous health screenings for diabetes and hypertension, reaching individuals who may not have had access to regular medical care. Additionally, our organization has organized community health outreach fairs, where we provide education on preventive measures and lifestyle modifications to promote overall well-being.”
2nd Place: Saumya Sao
Saumya Sao is a medical student at the Stanford University School of Medicine.
In her essay, Saumya wrote about how a passion for reproductive and maternal health brought her to the medical space. She is excited to be on the journey to becoming an OB/GYN. Here is an excerpt:
“I met Mary the summer before my senior year of college. I was supporting my research team in northern Tanzania as we implemented a clinical intervention to reduce HIV stigma in prenatal settings. When I met Mary, I was shadowing physicians on the postpartum ward of the largest hospital in Mwanza, Tanzania. Mary had a stomach injury so severe that I could see several inches into her stomach; she had suffered a devastating pregnancy and labor experience, resulting in an abdominal fistula, a stillbirth, and almost losing her life. Mary was one of dozens of women I saw that summer suffering from a lack of access to adequate healthcare.
Returning to the US, I served as a birth doula – a nonmedical support person for pregnancy and labor. Though maternal morbidities I saw were not as severe as those in Tanzania, access to care for the low-income women of color I served was still insufficient. My first client was a first-time parent who needed an emergency induction after a rural healthcare center incorrectly measured her growing fetus, resulting in an emergency c-section at 3 am. My second client was a 19-year-old experiencing her second unplanned pregnancy without health insurance or a support system. These experiences solidified my resolve to become an OB/GYN – I wanted the medical expertise to advocate for my clients from a clinical standpoint, but also to change the systematic factors that led to both women having negative pregnancy experiences.”
3rd Place: Maali LaFrance
Maali LaFrance is a medical student at UT Southwestern. She has a dog named Murphy who is with her on all her home study sessions. In fact, Murphy may know just as much about medicine as Maali does!
In her essay, Maali writes about her passion for Urology, and how her family’s experiences with cancer have driven her to pursue a career in medicine. Here is an excerpt:
““What does that mean?” This is often the follow-up question I receive after I share my passion for urology. However, my family is acquainted with the specialty. After years of disrupted sleep to urinate and uncomfortable trips to the bathroom, my mother took it upon herself to make a doctor’s appointment for my stepfather. After various tests and imaging my stepfather would soon be told he was at a high risk of developing prostate cancer; A disease that has wreaked havoc on my immediate family and surrounding community. Statistics show that ⅙ African-American men will develop prostate cancer at some point in their lifetime and are 2.1 times more likely to die from the disease. As jarring as these numbers are, I found that limited resources and information were being provided to communities such as my hometown of Alief, Texas. Unfortunately, due to economic and social barriers, small symptoms turn into fatal illnesses.
The hesitance to receive medical treatment not only comes from the systematic mistreatment from medical providers historically, but additionally, members of my community are either not insured or underinsured. My step-father who is a contracted truck driver is not afforded most benefits such as health insurance. Furthermore, the expense of seeing a specialty physician such as a urologist is out of reach. In my experience, despite worsening symptoms, African-American men are still repelled to make a doctor’s appointment. Instead, this task fell upon my mother and I to complete. Historically, black women are the advocates when it comes to not only their health but for their loved ones.”
Congratulations to all of our winners!