Colorado Medical Society
http://dev.cms.org/articles/copic-comment-copics-medical-student-scholarship-program/COPIC Comment: COPIC’s medical student scholarship program
Monday, March 20, 2017 12:39 PM
Speaking from experience, medical school is a challenging time. There are long hours, vast amounts of information to learn, and large amounts of coffee consumed. Then there is the pressure of having to determine your path in health care. It’s a lot and any help to navigate through this can make a significant difference. The COPIC Medical Foundation focuses on supporting diverse medical students making this journey and investing in them to retain highly qualified physicians in Colorado.
Since 2007, our foundation has provided partial scholarships for medical students who are preparing to become the next generation of physician leaders. In Colorado, the COPIC Diversity Scholarship Program is available for students at the University of Colorado School of Medicine and Rocky Vista University College of Osteopathic Medicine. Besides offering financial assistance, the scholarship program has a goal of supporting a multicultural student body. This translates into a diverse health care workforce, which improves communication between physicians and their diverse patient populations.
Our foundation recognizes that health care is a team effort comprised of non-physician members who play a vital role. Therefore, we also offer scholarship funding for the Health Care Quality and Patient Safety certificate program at Regis University in Denver. This program focuses on the reporting of health care outcomes, analysis of data to support quality improvements, and managing patient safety and risk in the health care setting.
Scholarship qualifications
Scholarship recipients through the COPIC Diversity Scholarship Program are Colorado residents who have demonstrated a commitment to medicine and involvement in their community, and have the skills and tenacity to succeed in the practice of medicine. Recipients participate in a variety of COPIC-sponsored activities such as our Inside COPIC program, which provides an “inside” look at the world of medical liability and allows for interaction with COPIC’s leadership team.
In addition, scholarship recipients are required to write a graduate-level research paper on a patient safety topic of their choice. Improving patient safety at all levels of care is embedded in COPIC’s culture, and our hope is that these papers offer new and unique insight that contributes to this area.
Scholarship recipient profile
Emily Moreno is a 2012 COPIC Diversity Scholarship Recipient from the University of Colorado. Today, she is part of the St. Joseph Internal Medicine Residency program and her focus is on primary care.
“As a practitioner, I aspire to work for a nonprofit clinic serving the underrepresented and minority population of my community,” Moreno says. Over the course of her four years in medical school, the COPIC Diversity Scholarship allowed Emily to pursue her passion for becoming a primary care physician, relieving some of the financial pressure that accompanies medical school so she could focus on her education. “I am so excited to be able to stay in Colorado for residency and beyond!” she says. “I aspire to work closely with indigent populations utilizing my Spanish skills and providing primary care.”
Medical school is an exciting time: students get to explore medicine and it inspires a sense of wonder in the capabilities of modern health care. COPIC is proud to support students during this period of their lives, and to date, our foundation has provided over $600,000 in scholarships. It’s an investment in the future of health care and those who will be at the forefront of making a difference.
Want to know more about our foundation’s scholarship program? Please contact Lindsey Sidener at lsidener@copic.com or 720-858-6071.