Mercer medical school names 25 students Nathan Deal Scholars
Mercer University’s medical school recognized 25 students Friday who received the first Physicians for Rural Georgia Scholarships.
The scholarship will cover 85 percent to 100 percent of tuition for up to four years in the school’s Doctor of Medicine program. The program is being funded from a $35 million settlement the state received from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services last year.
The number of recipients may vary from year to year, depending on how the funds are separated.
Those who accept the scholarship commit to working at a full-time medical practice in rural Georgia for four years after residency. The practice must also accept Medicaid patients.
Gov. Nathan Deal, addressing those gathered Friday, emphasized the importance of improving access to quality health care in medically underserved Georgia areas.
“When rural hospitals shut their doors, it’s not only bad for health care access but also for the local economies,” he said. “The Physicians for Rural Georgia Scholarship Program is instrumental in prioritizing this access by training and placing graduates in high-demand areas of our state.”
Recipients will be called Nathan Deal Scholars in recognition of the state’s 82nd governor, who is a Mercer alumnus.
“Gov. Deal ... has been a strong advocate for rural health care in the state,” Mercer President Bill Underwood said. “He was instrumental in directing the federal settlement proceeds to programs that enable the preparation of more physicians for rural ... areas.”
New applicants among first- through fourth-year students will be accepted for the scholarship each fall. Second- through fourth-year students who meet the program’s criteria will be eligible for funding for their previous years of study as well.
More than 60 percent of the medical school’s graduates practice in the state of Georgia, according to the university, and of those, more than 80 percent are practicing in rural or medically underserved areas of the state.
This story was originally published August 18, 2017 at 6:58 PM with the headline "Mercer medical school names 25 students Nathan Deal Scholars."