Third-year medical student Erin Clark is one of 30 scholarship winners nationwide selected to participate in the Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leader Institute. As a scholarship recipient, Clark will participate in a year-long leadership development program.
The Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leader Institute is a program of the American Academy of Family Physicians Foundation (AAFP). It aims to ensure the future of the Family Medicine specialty by increasing the number of Family Medicine leaders through leadership training.
“I’m particularly interested in contributing to underserved populations while focusing on social determinants of health and access to quality care,” Clark said.
The AAFP selected Clark through a highly competitive application process. As a Campbell medical student, she was encouraged by faculty to seek opportunities for personal and professional development.
“Our mission is to deliver superior patient care in communities we serve, and increasing access to family medicine is a key strategy for fulfilling that purpose,” said Dr. John M. Kauffman Jr., dean. “It’s rewarding to see our medical students embody our School’s mission in such ways. Ms. Clark’s dedication to transform healthcare in underserved areas is commendable and serves as an example for us all.”
Clark will attend both the AAFP National Conference of Family Medicine Residents and Medical Students (National Conference) and the AAFP Foundation Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leadership Institute. Over the course of one year, Clark will work diligently on a project associated with philanthropic and mission-driven leadership.
“Through my project scope, I hope to address one of the many aspects of health disparities in urban underserved local communities. I plan to partner with an organization that focuses on substance abuse and addiction.” Clark said. “While I’m fully expecting to be pushed out of my comfort zone, I’m eager to listen to people who have had various life experiences.”
Broadly speaking, Clark said she desires to bring her attitudes on community connections and inclusion to her career in medicine, which if all goes according to plan, will begin with a residency in family medicine.