JACKSON, Miss. – Five recent graduates of the University of Mississippi have been awarded Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarships valued at $30,000 per year for their medical training at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine in Jackson.
Jackson Browning, Rohini Krishan, Brooks Pratt, Kelly Ann Sneed and Anna Grace Stout were honored at the annual ceremony for the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program.
Browning is the son of Roger and Rebecca Browning of New Albany. Krishna is the daughter of Krishna and Kiran Reddy of Greenville. Pratt is the son of Dr. Leonard and Anita Pratt of Corinth. Sneed is the daughter of Charlie and Karen Sneed of Olive Branch. Stout is the daughter of David and Vicki Moody of Carthage.
Created in 2007, the Mississippi Rural Physicians Scholarship Program is designed to provide more primary care physicians in rural areas of Mississippi. During medical school, each MRPSP scholar receives $30,000 a year, based on available funding.
Consistent legislative support of the MRPSP translates to 60 medical students receiving $1.8 million to support their education this fall. Besides the legislative support, five privately funded scholarships were also awarded this year.
Other benefits include personalized mentoring from practicing rural physicians and academic support.
Upon completion of medical training, MRPSP scholars must enter a residency program in one of five primary care specialties: family medicine, general internal medicine, medicine-pediatrics, obstetrics/gynecology or pediatrics. The MRPSP scholar must provide four years of service in a clinic-based practice in an approved Mississippi community with a population of 20,000 or fewer and more than 20 miles from a medically served area.
MRPSP provides a means for rural Mississippi students to earn a seat in medical school and to earn a $120,000 medical school scholarship in return for four years of service. They also learn the art of healing from practicing rural physicians.
For more information, contact Dan Coleman, MRPSP associate director, at 601-815-0564, jdcoleman@umc.edu or http://mrpsp.umc.edu.