Texas medical student wins Pisacano scholarship

TAFP member Pamela Ferry, a fourth-year medical student at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, is among the five scholars selected nationwide for the 2009 Pisacano Scholarship. Each year the board of directors of the Pisacano Leadership Foundation selects outstanding medical students who have made a commitment to enter the specialty of family medicine.

Ferry received a Bachelor of Arts in Human Biology from Stanford University in 1987 and a Master of Health Science from Johns Hopkins University. As a Hyde Bailey Fellow at Cornell University, she completed doctoral coursework for her Ph.D. before deciding to pursue a medical degree.

In addition to attending medical school at Baylor, Ferry currently works as the assistant director for the Center for Educational Outreach and assistant professor of Allied Health Sciences where she oversees programs to increase access to medical careers for underrepresented college students. She was instrumental in the development of the Texas Joint Admission Medical Program, or JAMP, which is a statewide program that provides financial and academic support to economically disadvantaged students to pursue medical degrees. Ferry advocates for the underserved, international medical and public health work, and bringing the patient-centered medical home to underserved populations.

The scholarships are given to students attending U.S. medical schools who demonstrate leadership skills, superior academic achievement, communication skills, character, integrity and a noteworthy level of community service. The American Board of Family Medicine created the Pisacano Leadership Foundation in 1991 as a tribute to its founder and first executive director.