Carrie Ip, a student at the John A. Burns School of Medicine (JABSOM) at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, has been awarded a prestigious and highly competitive National Health Service Corps Scholarship. The native of Keaʻau on Hawaiʻi Island is one of only 205 U.S. medical students awarded the scholarship, which was sought by 2,275 applicants in 2016.
Administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service’s Bureau of Health Workforce, the scholarship pays tuition, fees, other educational costs, and provides a living stipend in return for a commitment to work at least two years at a NHSC-approved site in a medically underserved community.
“I would like to give back to my home community,” she said. “I am lucky to have so many great influences and mentors in my life, and my family and loved ones are my biggest supporters and the ones who inspire me to succeed in medical school.”
More about Carrie Ip
Ip is a 2011 graduate of Waiākea High School in Hilo, and received her undergraduate degree in biology (with minors in chemistry and English) from the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. She says she was motivated to study medicine by witnessing how those from different social or economic backgrounds suffer from a lack of routine access to healthcare.
“Growing up, I have realized how important primary care is from a preventative standpoint. I would like to have a part in the continuous care of my future patients,” said Ip. “Many of my family and friends have been affected by the lack of access to health care and resources—not having a primary care physician or having to fly to and from Honolulu or the mainland to receive adequate care. I believe they deserve better and I would like to give back to a community that I love and call home.”
Ip is scheduled to graduate from JABSOM in 2020 and plans to complete her training as a primary care physician and return to her home island.
Read more about Ip at the JABSOM website.
—By Tina Shelton
