The overarching goal is to provide healthcare, in hopes, to better our community and this great Nation. The L.D. Britt, MD Scholarship brings us one step closer to achieving this goal.
The coming years will bring a growing need for more minority doctors. By 2050, racial and ethnic minorities will comprise half of the U.S. population, but they make up only 6 percent of practicing physicians today. Studies show that greater diversity in medical education results in more physicians practicing in underserved communities, more culturally competent care and better patient-doctor communication.
The L.D. Britt, MD Scholarship Fund has become a permanent source of support for promising minority medical students thanks to contributions from supports, specifically the surrounding community.
The L.D. Britt, MD Endowed Scholarship was established in 1995 in recognition of Dr. Britt's dedication to medicine and philanthropy. The scholarship is awarded annually, in honor of Dr. Britt, to a deserving minority student who plans to pursue a doctor of medicine degree.
The money raised from supporters throughout Hampton Roads (and beyond) by the L.D. Britt, MD Scholarship Committee, enables the scholarship to operate as a self-sustaining, endowed scholarship. One minority student in each year of the four-year medical program will receive a L.D. Britt, MD Scholarship. The amount of support will be based on the fund's principal balance. At this point, each scholarship is expected to be up to $10,000.
"It has always been our goal to have the scholarship be able to be given out in perpetuity," said L.D. Britt, MD, MPH, chair and Brickhouse Professor of surgery. "I'm thrilled that the Hampton Roads community has supported this goal."
A native of Suffolk, Virginia and graduate of Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health, Dr. Britt has extensive surgical and critical care training. He is a Henry Ford Professor and Edward J. Brickhouse Chairman of the Department of Surgery at EVMS, where he is consistently pursuing medical education, research and involvement of his colleagues, facility and staff, residents, and the community.