NEW YORK, April 11, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount
Sinai (ISMMS) today unveiled its Enhanced Scholarship
Initiative (ESI), a new program offering substantial debt relief
for students with demonstrated financial need. The program will
launch in the upcoming academic year and will enable qualifying
medical students entering in 2019 and thereafter to graduate with a
maximum total debt of $75,000.
Currently enrolled students will also be eligible for the ESI for
their remaining years at the Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai. The announcement is
part of Mount Sinai Health System's effort to promote equity and
diversity in medical education, and well- being among its
students.
An estimated 40 percent of students attending ISMMS will benefit
from the program, with aid covering the entire cost of attendance,
including tuition, housing, meals and other living expenses such as
travel and books. These students will take out a loan of no more
than $18,750 per year, funded by a
combination of institutional and federal loans. The remainder of
the students' unmet need will be covered by the new
scholarship.
Nationwide, 76 percent of medical students in the class of 2018
graduated with student debt, according to the Association of
American Medical Colleges. Among those graduates, the median debt
was $200,000. Mount Sinai's program will enable students who
are eligible for school-based financial aid to graduate with
significantly less than half of that burden.
"The fundamental goal of this initiative is to have a meaningful
impact on the stress that comes with loan debt for students who can
least afford a medical education, and to take a step closer to
achieving equity in providing that education to students who have
historically been prevented from pursuing careers in medicine due
to their financial circumstances," said David Muller, MD, FACP, Dean for Medical
Education and the Marietta and Charles C. Morchand Chair of the
Department of Medical Education at ISMMS.
It is well established that even the prospect of debt serves as
a deterrent to students who are underrepresented in medicine, as
well as individuals from lower-income families. "There are
unacceptable disparities among many African American and Latino
students whose desire to seek a career in medicine far outstrips
their financial wherewithal to do so. This is the kind of statistic
we want to change," said Dr. Muller. Dr. Muller also points out
that overwhelming debt has been correlated with an increase in
stress, as well as depression.
Through their generous philanthropy, the initiative was made
possible by members of the Mount Sinai Boards of Trustees led by
Donald J. Gogel, Chair of the
Boards' Medical Education Committee.
"This is a tremendously important moment for our students with
financial need and their ability to reduce the debt incurred from
attending medical school. This issue was and remains a very
important area of focus for the Mount Sinai Boards of Trustees,
whose members generously stepped forward to make this program
possible," said Mr. Gogel. "We believe that the new scholarships
will increase our students' freedom and flexibility in the choice
of where and how they will practice medicine, conduct research or
teach once they graduate."
Dennis S. Charney, MD, the Anne
and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of Icahn School of Medicine at
Mount Sinai and President for
Academic Affairs of the Mount Sinai Health System, said, "This is a
world-class institution that attracts highly qualified students
with a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. This new
scholarship initiative will enhance our ability to continue
recruiting these outstanding students, while also making an
important difference in their lives as they begin their careers in
science and medicine."
The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount
Sinai is one of a small number of medical schools nationwide
that have established campaigns to offer debt relief for
students.
About the Mount Sinai Health System
The Mount Sinai Health System is New York
City's largest integrated delivery system, encompassing
eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of
ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai's vision is to produce the safest
care, the highest quality, the highest satisfaction, the best
access and the best value of any health system in the nation. The
Health System includes approximately 7,480 primary and specialty
care physicians; 11 joint-venture ambulatory surgery centers; more
than 410 ambulatory practices throughout the five boroughs of
New York City, Westchester, Long
Island, and Florida; and 31
affiliated community health centers. The Icahn School of Medicine
is one of three medical schools that have earned distinction by
multiple indicators: ranked in the top 20 by U.S. News & World
Report's "Best Medical Schools", aligned with a U.S. News &
World Report's "Honor Roll" Hospital, No. 12 in the nation for
National Institutes of Health funding, and among the top 10 most
innovative research institutions as ranked by the journal Nature in
its Nature Innovation Index. This reflects a special level of
excellence in education, clinical practice, and research. The Mount
Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 18 on U.S. News & World Report's
"Honor Roll" of top U.S. hospitals; it is one of the nation's top
20 hospitals in Cardiology/Heart Surgery, Gastroenterology/GI
Surgery, Geriatrics, Nephrology, and Neurology/Neurosurgery, and in
the top 50 in six other specialties in the 2018-2019 "Best
Hospitals" issue. Mount Sinai's
Kravis Children's Hospital also is ranked nationally in five out of
ten pediatric specialties by U.S. News & World Report. The New
York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount
Sinai is ranked 11th nationally for Ophthalmology and 44th
for Ear, Nose, and Throat. Mount Sinai Beth Israel, Mount Sinai St.
Luke's, Mount Sinai West, and South Nassau Communities Hospital are
ranked regionally.
For more information, visit http://www.mountsinai.org/, or find
Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter
and YouTube.
SOURCE Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai