CMSRU student awarded Community Service Medical Scholarship
Ronald Ikechi, third year medical student at Cooper Medical School of Rowan University (CMSRU), was selected as one of 30 students across the country named a United Health Foundation and National Medical Fellowships Diverse Medical Scholar. The co-founded scholarship recognizes students that embody the organizations’ shared mission of improving quality health care access through community service and working with the underserved.
“CMSRU’s values – diversity, mutual respect, civic responsibility – guide us as medical educators. It is an extremely proud moment when a student not only exemplifies those ideals, but also receives recognition from professionals in the field for doing so,” said Annette C. Reboli, MD, Interim Dean of CMSRU.
Since spring of 2015, Ronald has volunteered weekly at Cooper University Health Care’s Urban Health Institute (UHI) where he facilitated discussions about diabetes health for the Institute’s Spanish and English group medical appointments. A new model of chronic care management, UHI’s group visits provide patients facing similar medical conditions with shared appointments focusing on medical care and education.
“I truly admire the strength patients have to share their successes and failures during the group visits,” Ikechi shared. “I also understand that this is an important learning experience for me as well, and I look for opportunities to dial back any medical ‘preaching’ and let the patients teach me,” he adds.
The United Health Foundation (UHF) provides helpful information to support decisions that lead to better health outcomes and healthier communities. The Foundation also supports activities that expand access to quality health care services for those in challenging circumstances and partners with others to improve the well-being of communities
The National Medical Fellowships (NMF) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing the number of underrepresented minority physicians and other professionals in the health care workforce in order to improve access to quality health care in medically under-served communities.