Discover how UICOMP is helping students combat the rising costs of medical education.
By Jim Burwitz
Current students and recent graduates are all too familiar with the financial burdens of medical school. “I have to be very careful what I spend and make sure that I have enough money to last for the semester,” says third-year UICOMP student Ingrid Kraus.
She’s not alone.
A 2006 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) stated that 72 percent of graduating medical students have debt of at least $100,000. Recent projections estimate a nine percent annual increase in monies owed over the next five to 10 years.
The skyrocketing costs of medical education may pose a threat to the future of American healthcare. Studies conducted by the American Medical Association (AMA) forecast substantial decreases in the number of primary care physicians, the overall diversity of the medical workforce, and the number of physicians willing to practice in underserved areas.
“Debt load has the potential to significantly impact career choices,” says Dr. Gwen Lombard, UICOMP’s Associate Dean of Academic Affairs. “With that in mind, we need to answer two major questions: Are we allowing a decrease of primary care physicians? Is it going to be cost prohibitive for students who don’t come from wealthy families to attend medical school?”
In an effort to address these financial concerns, UICOMP is continually searching for opportunities to support current and future medical students.
Endowed funding has become an important piece of the College of Medicine’s scholarship puzzle. For example, UICOMP’s Zelda R. Rider Endowed Scholarship was established in the early 1990s with a gift of approximately $150,000. Because it is an endowed fund that earns interest over time, well over $400,000 has been awarded to students over the past 15 years.
“The Rider Scholarship is an excellent example of the power of endowment,” says Mark Roberts, Director of UICOMP’s Office of Advancement and Community Relations. “This permanently invested fund will continue to provide support to our students in perpetuity. Endowed scholarships are a wonderful way for donors to leave a legacy for the College of Medicine.”
Over the years, former students and faculty members have given generously to establish these important funds. It is this concept of giving back that Roberts encounters time and again. “The comment that I hear most often is, ‘the education I received at UICOMP has made all the difference in my career,’” he explains. “Donors get excited when they learn how an endowed scholarship will allow them to help generations of medical students.”
The current generation recognizes the effort that has been made on its behalf. “UICOMP has been great about providing local scholarships and keeping students informed about which ones are available and when to apply,” says Ingrid Kraus.
Avenues of assistance are developing on a national level as well. In February of 2008, the AMA successfully secured a number of provisions in a higher education reauthorization bill that was drafted to provide financial assistance to medical students and residents. Among the provisions is a federal loan forgiveness program that allows eligible physicians with five or more years of graduate medical education to qualify for up to $10,000 of forgiveness over a five-year period.
“The AMA is committed to easing the significant financial burdens faced by medical students and residents,” says AMA Board Member Chris DeRienzo. “The higher education reauthorization bill is a positive step, providing incentives that will help encourage physicians to work in underserved areas where patients desperately need them and increase loan transparency that will benefit students and residents during the cumbersome financial planning process.”
These sentiments are shared by Dr. Lombard, who continues to search for new ideas. “Going forward, we need to look at increasing our current endowments and creating better-funded scholarship programs,” she explains. “Our current scholarships help defray costs and make medical school more affordable, but we have to make sure that medicine doesn’t become a profession for the wealthy.”
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