St. George's University Awards $1.1 Million in CityDoctors Scholarships to Eight NYC-Based Students
Feb 14, 2018
St. George’s University School of Medicine and NYC Health + Hospitals have announced that eight students from the New York metropolitan area will be awarded $1.1 million in CityDoctors scholarships. In return, awardees commit to practicing primary care medicine at one of 11 public hospitals in New York City following graduation. Since its inception in 2012, the CityDoctors scholarship program has awarded 99 students with scholarships worth a total of $10.3 million.
“The CityDoctors scholarship program was created to help some of New York’s best and brightest achieve their dream of pursuing a career in medicine in their hometown,” said Dr. G. Richard Olds, President of St. George’s University. “We look forward to equipping a new group of students with the skills they’ll need to provide quality health care in New York’s neediest communities.”
The 2018 class of CityDoctors scholarship recipients are a diverse group of women and men, representing Queens, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island. Recipients hold undergraduate and graduate degrees from a range of prestigious institutions, including Johns Hopkins University, St. John’s University, Boston University, City College of New York, SUNY Albany, Lehman College, the College of Staten Island, and New York City College of Technology. The following scholarship recipients, each of whom has committed to a two-year term with NYC Health + Hospitals, will begin medical school this spring in Grenada.
| Name | Residence |
|---|---|
| Suemaya Husein | Queens |
| Joseph Varvarigos | Queens |
| Huigen Chen | Manhattan |
| Georgina Kemeh | Bronx |
| Thomas Joyce | Staten Island |
| Gonzalo Militar | Queens |
| Bishoy Gerges | Staten Island |
| Jesam Usani | Bronx |
“Our ongoing collaboration with St. George’s University demonstrates NYC Health + Hospitals’ commitment to strengthening primary care services across the city,” said Dr. Mitchell Katz, President and Chief Executive Officer of NYC Health + Hospitals. “Graduates of this program commit to practicing primary care in our health system, which helps us fill a gap our communities so desperately feel, and we are happy to welcome them to our team.”
CityDoctors Scholarship students commit to serving as primary care attending physicians at an NYC Health + Hospitals facility following their medical training. Students who receive a full scholarship commit to working for NYC Health + Hospitals for four years; students with half scholarships sign on for two years.
To qualify for a CityDoctors scholarship, applicants must be a US citizen or US permanent resident and meet one or more of the following criteria: have had a permanent address within the five boroughs of New York City for five years or more, have graduated from a high school within New York City, have graduated from a college or university within New York City, have a parent employed by the City of New York or NYC Health + Hospitals, or be employed themselves by the City of New York or NYC Health + Hospitals for at least five years.
The CityDoctors scholarship program is designed to attract and educate the best and brightest students to become doctors committed to serving in urban hospitals. The collaboration between St. George’s University and NYC Health + Hospitals launched in 2012 to help address the shortage of primary care physicians and to increase educational and career opportunities for local youth. The scholarship recipients have been selected based on their academic excellence and financial need, and will receive either partial or full scholarships to pay for medical school tuition for periods of up to four years, with some scholarships valued at more than $200,000 each.