Photo by University of Mississippi Medical Center
BEYOND CAMPUS BEYOND CAMPUS
Summer Bailey, Marlaina Berch, and Emily Brandon
Millsaps alumni find Rural Physicians Program helpful.
S
ummer Bailey is among Millsaps College graduates who want to make sure Mississippi’s rural residents have access to medical care. A 2012 alumna, Bailey is a second-year medical student at the University of Mississippi School of Medicine, and a Mississippi Rural Physicians Program scholarship recipient. The program was authorized by the Mississippi Legislature in 2007 to help address the challenges of Mississippi’s health care crisis. The scholarship provides $30,000 a year during the four years of medical school. For every year of scholarship money a student receives, he or she is expected to practice in a rural area of Mississippi. Bailey’s goal is to practice medicine in her hometown of Lorman, which she jokingly describes as having more cows than people.
“I feel more comfortable in a smaller place than a city,” she said. “My parents are from the town that I am from, my grandparents are from this same town, and I can show you the house where my great-grandparents lived. Lorman and Jefferson County are where my roots are.” Like many of the 54 scholars currently in the program, Bailey has lived in a rural area of Mississippi and is already familiar with the disparities in medical care in the state. “When I was growing up, I thought it was normal to travel 45 minutes to go to the dentist or to go for medical help,” she said. “Then I got to Millsaps and saw where there are numerous medical options just around the corner.” Bailey said she feels a strong commitment to her hometown and her state. “For me the scholarship means getting a free ride to do something you should do and what a lot of us want to do—give back to our communities,” she explained. She is considering pediatrics for her specialty.
Millsaps Magazine | Summer 2013
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