Family Medicine Cares Resident Service Award

The inaugural Resident Service Award will be given to a family medicine resident who has designed an innovative service project to implement in 2013 in a free health clinic or similar venue that will address an unmet health care need in the community. The unmet needs in the more than 25 proposals being considered included:

• Childhood obesity in an underserved neighborhood
• Literacy among early grade school children
• Wellness education for families in ethnic populations
• Safe transition for the homeless from hospital care to the streets
• Early detection of cervical cancer and treatment in homeless population
• Prenatal and delivery care for homeless women

The recipient announcement will be available by June 15.

The Family Medicine Cares Resident Service Award was established to create an opportunity for family medicine residents to fulfill a desire to address health disparities by tackling the health needs of the underserved in their local communities.

One resident service award will be given annually to a first- or second-year resident who designs a resourceful service project that addresses an unmet health care need in his/her community. The year-long project can be conducted in a free clinic or similar venue to enhance the services already offered and should focus on activities that have an enduring benefit to the patients in the community after the 12-month project period.

 The award consists of multiple elements:

• $10,000 to the resident award recipient to cover project costs 
• $5,000 to the free health clinic (or other health care facility) where the service project is implemented 
• $1,000 travel award for the resident to attend the National Conference of Family Medicine Resident and Medical Students to present the results of the project 
• $500 stipend to the residency program to celebrate and recognize the resident who wins the award

Want more information about the award? Please read the grant guidelines and requirements of the grant.