Endowed scholarship plans to bring public health training to UIC medical students
Intro
What if in addition to learning how to diagnose and treat individual health problems, young physicians could learn how to improve the health of the communities where their patients live, work, and play, to help them avoid getting sick in the first place?
At UIC, the next generation of physicians is learning how to do just that: UIC’s MD/MPH program helps future physicians understand the broader forces that shape health and wellness and learn some of the tools they can use to help improve the health of populations.
Offered jointly through the UIC College of Medicine and School of Public Health, the program allows students to earn Doctor of Medicine and Master of Public Health degrees during the traditional four years of medical school. Along the way, students develop expertise in areas such as epidemiology, community health, public policy, environmental health, and clinical preventive services.
Too often, however, financial barriers can hinder a medical student’s ability to pursue public health training. Enter the MD/MPH Program Scholarship. Developed by the UIC School of Public Health, this new scholarship is specifically designed to reduce the cost of public health education for qualified medical students.
When approached about helping to fund the start-up of this new scholarship program, the Brewer family jumped at the opportunity to help get it going.
Part 2
“The outstanding training I received in public health and medicine at UIC had a profound impact on my personal and professional development and ultimately inspired me to pursue what became a 30-year career in Epidemiology and Public Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC),” said Dr. Robert Brewer (MSPH ‘78; MD ‘82; OEMR ‘85).
“We see the MD/MPH Program Scholarship as an important way to encourage medical students to help create healthier communities, in addition to learning how to care for individual patients when they’re ill,” added Evelyn Brewer. “And we both see contributing to this Scholarship as a chance to give back to the UIC Schools of Public Health and Medicine, and to honor Dean Giles’ leadership at the UIC School of Public Health as well.”
By reducing financial barriers to public health training, this endowed scholarship will enable talented students to pursue the MD/MPH program and focus more fully on their education.
“The UIC MD/MPH program will attract and retain students who are passionate about understanding the social determinants of health and finding solutions that will not only better the health of individuals, but of communities, as well,” said Wayne Giles, MD, MS, dean of the UIC School of Public Health. “We are extremely grateful for the support of the Brewer family in establishing the MD/MPH Program Scholarship, which will ultimately help UIC Medical Students participate in this Program.”
Graduates of the MD/MPH Program are also better equipped to help tackle intersectional challenges such as health inequities, chronic disease prevention, the prevention of tobacco use and excessive alcohol consumption, emergency preparedness, and access to healthcare services, among other public health problems. In addition, they learn the importance of collaborating with communities, healthcare systems, and policymakers to improve health at every level.
“We hope other UIC alumni and friends will join in supporting the MD/MPH Program Scholarship”, Dean Giles added, “so that we can make valuable public health training available to all qualified UIC Medical Students at no additional cost.”
If you would like information about how you can support the MD/MPH Program Scholarship, please contact Brad Foster (btfoster@uic.edu) or Dorothy Griggs (dlgriggs@uic.edu). You can also make a gift at: payment.give.uic.edu, by selecting the UIC MD/MPH Program Scholarship Fund.