Spring 2021
Abigail Geisinger Scholars Update Welcome! It’s spring — and that means we just celebrated Match Day!
Scholars survey results encouraging and informative
We’re so proud that the first five students who participated in the Abigail Geisinger Scholars program were in the Match. Congratulations to:
Our spirits are buoyed by the results of a recent survey of participants in the Abigail Geisinger Scholars Program to learn how well the program structure aligned with their needs and interests.
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Tara Avery Hannah Bohr Alexa Bolock Saran Kunaprayoon Jeremy Tokash
And in just a few years, they’ll return to us as Geisinger physicians. In this issue, you’ll see profiles of Scholars and two members of our excellent clinical faculty, as well as a summary of our Scholars’ opinions on the program. It was gratifying to find that students’ motivation for joining the program line up perfectly with Geisinger’s mission and values.
So far, the students resoundingly affirmed their decision to pursue primary care: •
95.45% indicated their values align with the physicians they’ve met in primary care.
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95.46% said their approach to medicine is like that of physicians in primary care.
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95.45% said their intended patient relationships are like those of physicians in primary care.
Students seemed to want enhanced medicine/pediatrics experiences: 62% indicated they would like to work with both children and adults. Even more heartening was the fact that 86% are interested in including behavioral health in their future practice. The survey showed that the current group of Scholars are a good match for Geisinger. •
73% prefer to practice in rural/small-town settings.
Be sure to mark these dates in your calendar:
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86% hope to practice in an underserved community.
Wednesday, April 21: Session with Jaewon Ryu, MD, JD, from 7 to 8 p.m.
Students cited a desire for more primary care clinical experiences, including those with signature programs like Geisinger at Home and 65 Forward, as well as more involvement in service and research opportunities related to primary care.
Wednesday, May 5: Doctor/ patient story with Richard Oley, DO, from 7 to 8 p.m.
The most attractive feature of the program was overwhelmingly “financial peace of mind” as the primary benefit. But there are other things our Scholars enjoy about the program, as well, including the sense of community they have as a group with faculty and staff. Importantly, we also had questions raised about issues like potential maternity leave and future employment. Our team plans to improve communication about such topics in the future.