Fourth-year medicine student Michaela Stamper receives AMA scholarship

Fourth-year medicine student Michaela Stamper receives AMA scholarship

Michaela Stamper, fourth-year student in the College of Medicine, is recipient of a 2024 American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Physicians of Tomorrow Scholarship.

The $10,000 scholarship award is given each year to outstanding students entering their fourth year of medical school.

In a letter recommending Stamper, Meehal Patel, M.D., M.B.A., FACP, chair of internal medicine, noted: "I see in Michaela the vision of compassion and bringing forth the best qualities in a future physician-dedication, compassion, professionalism, humility and the determined passion to help heal patients and promote their well-being. She shows willingness to learn and address complex issues for patients and their families as well as physicians."

The award has special meaning for Stamper.

"The scholarship really does mean a lot to me because a big portion of my extracurricular involvement was with the AMA as both the NEOMED delegate and a committee chair," Stamper said.

Through her involvement with AMA and other student organizations, she continues to hone her advocacy skills.

"I really hope to integrate policy work and advocacy into my future career as a neurologist, and so it was important to me to be to both get involved early and hopefully inspire others to do the same through the workshops and policy writing sessions over the years," Stamper noted. "I know the skills I have learned through the policy-making process, which include formal public speaking and lobbying, will not only help me pursue future efforts to increase access to neurological care and health equity initiatives, but also have come in handy in a number of other aspects of medical school, from patient interviewing, clinical rotations and (hopefully) residency interviews soon."

She added, "So, in short, my passion for advocacy has really driven my involvement in AMA, and I have really enjoyed it - and I am very grateful they found my work and story deserving of this scholarship!"

About AMA scholarships

With 12 scholarship categories and a variety of focus areas, the AMA Foundation works to recognize a diverse cohort of medical students each year. All students may apply for the Physicians of Tomorrow scholarships, regardless of AMA membership status.