Primary Care Initiative Awards $50K in Scholarships to Medical Students

Four medical students at the Idaho College of Osteopathic Medicine (ICOM) have been awarded $50K in scholarships from the Primary Care Initiative (PCI).

To help ICOM attract the finest students with an interest in primary care, PCI seeks to recognize and award scholarships to ICOM students who demonstrate outstanding character, academic excellence, financial need, and a sincere interest and commitment to practicing primary care in rural Idaho.

Annually, the PCI awards the following three scholarships:

• The Primary Care Rural Health Scholarship – Awarded to students with a demonstrated interest in rural medicine and primary care.
• The Austin Jenkins Scholarship – Awarded to students with a demonstrated commitment to the practice of rural medicine and primary care in Idaho. Established in memory of Austin Jenkins, a member of ICOM’s Class of 2023.
• The MacKenzie Gerszewski Scholarship – Awarded to students with a demonstrated commitment to the practice of pediatrics and serving rural communities. Established in memory of MacKenzie Gerszewski, a member of ICOM’s Class of 2023.

This year, PCI awarded two Primary Care Rural Health Scholarships to Student Doctors Ethan Lowe and Kevin Cox. Both are currently in their third-year of study at ICOM and received $10,000 each.

The Foundation selected Student Doctor Cordigan Summers as the recipient of the Austin Jenkins Scholarship, and Student Doctor Nicole Jordan as the recipient of the MacKenzie Gerszewski Scholarship. Each of these students received $15,000, to be used toward tuition.

The Primary Care Initiative, a non-profit foundation established in August of 2022, was created in partnership between ICOM and Blue Cross of Idaho. Its goal is to encourage new doctors to practice in rural and medically-underserved areas of Idaho through scholarships and medical education debt repayments.