OUWB medical student selected for national scholarship program

Jeanne Wigant, originally from Ham Lake, Minnesota, is one of just 30 scholarship winners nationwide selected who participated in the Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leader Institute. Wigant is a fourth year medical student at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine. As a scholarship winner, Wigant 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. It is funded by family physician donors and aims to identify and train Family Medicine residents and medical students who have leadership potential, but may not yet have served in a major leadership role.

In the increasingly fragmented world of health care, a family physician’s leadership skills are more important than ever before. Communities look to family physicians for guidance on everything from proper nutrition to management of chronic health conditions to providing humanitarian aid to those in need.

“Future physicians like Wigant are the up-and-coming leaders with the power to transform healthcare in America –We learned as much from her as she learned from us. This unique leadership opportunity will help her build the skills and experience that will accelerate her ability to impact her patients, communities, and the healthcare environment overall. We were pleased to have her join us as a Scholar of the Family Medicine Leads Emerging Leader Institute,” AAFP Foundation President Evelyn Lewis&Clark, MD, said.

Wigant received a $1,000 scholarship towards travel expenses to attend both the American Academy of Family Physicians (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, the scholarship winners will work with a mentor to complete a project related to one of three tracks: Policy & Public Health Leadership, Personal & Practice Leadership, and Philanthropic & Mission-Driven Leadership. Wigant will work on a project in the Philanthropic & Mission-Driven Leadership track.

“Being selected to take part in a program such as this is an invaluable opportunity for personal development, but more importantly, it will allow me to draw attention to the issue of homelessness, which I am very passionate about. Homeless individuals often become ‘invisible’ to society, dismissed and disregarded as being less than human; but the reality is our country is filled with people who are just one paycheck away from being in the same position. As Family Physicians, we have an obligation to champion discussions about improving these issues and create partnerships throughout our communities to improve the overall health and well-being of ALL of our patients, and this includes the homeless.” Wigant said.

At the end of the year-long program, the projects will be evaluated and an additional $1,000 scholarship will be given to the top two medical students and the top two Family Medicine residents in each of the three tracks to attend the 2017 National Conference to present their winning projects. Finally, one Best Project Award will be named for each of the three tracks, and will provide the recipient with an additional $3,000 scholarship for participation in a designated major event related to the track.