About

The Family Medicine Scholars Training and Admission program (fmSTAT) is a unique program with two components:

1. The dual admissions process is designed to identify and select individuals who come to medical school intending to be family physicians.

2. The four-year curricular program provides participants with tailored experiences that nurture, develop, and support this select group of medical students toward their family medicine career goal.

Benefits

  • Deliberate placement with specially selected family physician teachers
  • Community of peers with shared values
  • 1:1 family physician mentor throughout the four-year experience
  • Core family medicine content through semi-annual retreat and seminar sessions
  • Optional paid summer research between first and second year
  • Professional development: potential for funded participation in state/national conferences, networking assistance, letters of support for personal/professional opportunities 
  • Financial scholarships
  • fmScholars' designation in the Medical Student Performance Evaluation (Dean's) letter for residency application

Expectations

  • Successful completion of general School of Medicine requirements
  • Attend annual required fmSTAT learning activities
  • Engage in a scholarly project and presentation in 4th year
  • Complete a family medicine 4th year elective
  • Apply to match in a Family Medicine residency

fmSTAT is a dual admission program to the VCU School of Medicine.  The admissions component of fmSTAT is designed to identify and select individuals who are committed to a career in family medicine upon matriculation.

Brandon's Admissions Experience

Brandon, fmScholar, talks about his admissions experience

Watch Brandon's video on Vimeo
Brandon's Admissions Experience
applying to fmSTAT

Applying to fmSTAT

The opportunity to apply to fmSTAT is automatically extended to a select group of VCU School of Medicine applicants during the supplemental application process.

Those who receive offers, and wish to apply, complete the online fmSTAT application. The School of Medicine and fmSTAT applications are reviewed by family physicians who participate in the School of Medicine admissions process.

If recommended, the fmSTAT Educational Director will call applicants with an invitation to interview. In addition to the standard School of Medicine interview, fmSTAT candidates, have an information session to learn more about the program and separate one-on-one interviews regarding their family medicine interest. 

fmSTAT emulates the School of Medicine admissions process with rolling offer dates. 8-10 fmScholars are selected each academic year from those accepted to VCU School of Medicine.


 

fmSTAT includes a 4-year longitudinal experience during which students explore key concepts and topics "through a family medicine lens” all the while keeping personal values and core values of family medicine in mind. 

This is accomplished in part by required participation in two seminars and two retreats each academic year. Learning activities are designed to be engaging (e.g. panels, debates, group work, etc.) Each session includes good food, enthusiastic faculty, and time to connect with other fmScholars.  Foundational to fmSTAT is having these experiences with fmSTAT peers at all levels of training.

This content encompasses:


Topics rotate to assure to avoid redundancy and coverage of the various aspects over the course of four years in the program. 

Seminars are in the evening (one per semester) on campus and include dinner.

Both retreats are on Saturdays and held off campus.  The fall retreat includes an optional overnight stay; the spring retreat is a day-long event.  Retreats provide time for meaningful connection with other fmScholars and the opportunity to "dig deeper" into the program content.


 

Mentorship is a cornerstone of fmSTAT. Each fmScholar is paired with a family physician whose role is to support and nurture the student through medical school. Mentors are very carefully selected and oriented to the program structure and expectations. The "matching" of fmScholars to mentors is based on getting to know students through the fmSTAT interview process and a pre-matriculation survey. Mentors and mentees meet each other during the first year of medical school with the intent of developing a relationship over the course of training. The mentorship is designed as a 1:1 relationship initiated and maintained by both mentor and student with the support of the program directors.

Based on expressed interest, there is typically at least 1-2 orchestrated (optional) group events enabling mentors and students to get together to socialize. 

Informal connections among scholars has been highly valued since our program’s inception.  In 2024, we will launch Scholars Supporting Scholars (S3) - small groups comprised of fmScholars from each year to further foster community, support, and guidance among student colleagues. 

 

Alana's Mentorship Experience

Alana, fmScholar, talks about her mentor relationship.

Watch Alana's video on Vimeo
Alana's Mentorship Experience
supporting students through mentorship

 

Program Directors

fmSTAT Co-directors, Judy Gary, M.Ed.and Carolyn Peel, M.D., provide ongoing support for participants. With input from other faculty and  students, they develop the curriculum, plan and evaluate all program events and hand-select mentors and preceptors to work with each fmScholar.

“We quickly discovered that the relationship aspects of fmSTAT were the most important part of the program.  Witnessing the support that students demonstrate for one another and the sense of community are inspiring.” 

Family Physician Preceptors

The Department of Family Medicine and Population Health involves nearly 200 family physicians across the Commonwealth of Virginia to help train VCU medical students.  Since its founding in 1970, the department has intentionally selected community family physicians (preceptors) -- many who are alumni, to serve as teachers and role models allowing students to experience family medicine where it is practiced most often. As a benefit of the fmSTAT program, fmScholars are preferentially placed with preceptors with the students' particular interests and needs in mind for all of their clinical experiences.

Mentors

Each fmScholar has a specifically selected family physician mentor who supports his/her scholars' personal and professional development. Though many mentors teach medical students, care is taken to avoid having a mentor directly teach or evaluate his or her mentee. See Mentorship section for more information.


Class of 2025

click on photos to learn more and contact an fmScholar

Alec

Alec

Virginia

Alec

Alec

Virginia

Class of 2025

College of William & Mary: Biology

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Ashley

Ashley

District of Columbia

Ashley

Ashley

District of Columbia

Class of 2025

California State University, Fullerton: Biochemistry with a minor in piano performance

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email Ashley

Austin

Austin

North Dakota

Austin

Austin

North Dakota

Class of 2025

Montana State University: Nutrition Science & Gerontology
University of North Dakota: Graduate Certificate in Public Health

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email Austin

Beck

Beck

Massachusetts

Beck

Beck

Massachusetts

Class of 2025

Boston University: Molecular Biology

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email Beck

Chris

Chris

North Carolina

Chris

Chris

North Carolina

Class of 2025

East Carolina University: BS - Biology and Philosophy
North Carolina State University: MS - Physiology

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email Chris

Jeremy

Jeremy

Utah

Jeremy

Jeremy

Utah

Class of 2025

Brigham Young University: Spanish

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Joseph

Joseph

Virginia

Joseph

Joseph

Virginia

Class of 2025

Davidson College: BA - Religious Studies

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Louisa

Louisa

North Carolina

Louisa

Louisa

North Carolina

Class of 2025

Davidson College: Latin American Studies

email Louisa

Sarah

Sarah

Virginia

Sarah

Sarah

Virginia

Class of 2025

University of Virginia: 5 year program - bachelor's in psychology/drama; master's in teaching

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email Sarah


Class of 2026

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Alexis

Alexis

Virginia

Alexis

Alexis

Virginia

Class of 2026

College of William & Mary: Kinesiology

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Cassie

Cassie

Virginia

Cassie

Cassie

Virginia

Class of 2026

University of Michigan: Biology, Health, and Society

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email Cassie

Emily

Emily

Georgia

Emily

Emily

Georgia

Class of 2026

Davidson College: History

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Emily

Emily

Virginia

Emily

Emily

Virginia

Class of 2026

University of Virginia: Astronomy

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Jennifer

Jennifer

Virginia

Jennifer

Jennifer

Virginia

Class of 2026

University of Texas at Austin: Ancient Greek Language

email Jennifer

Krishna

Krishna

Virginia

Krishna

Krishna

Virginia

Class of 2026

College of William & Mary: Computational and Applied Mathematics and Statistics

email Krishna

Mariah

Mariah

California

Mariah

Mariah

California

Class of 2026

University of San Francisco: Kinesiology

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email Mariah

Nasim

Nasim

California

Nasim

Nasim

California

Class of 2026

University of California, Davis: Genetics & Genomics

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email Nasim

Nathan

Nathan

Virginia

Nathan

Nathan

Virginia

Class of 2026

James Madison University: Health Sciences

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email Nathan

Ronston

Ronston

Virginia

Ronston

Ronston

Virginia

Class of 2026

Virginia Commonwealth University: Biology; Psychology

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email Ronston


 

Class of 2027

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Anna

Anna

Virginia

Anna

Anna

Virginia

Class of 2027

Virginia Tech: Biological Systems Engineering

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email Anna

Cameron

Cameron

Virginia

Cameron

Cameron

Virginia

Class of 2027

Georgetown University: Biology of Global Health

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email Cameron

Daniel

Daniel

Maryland

Daniel

Daniel

Maryland

Class of 2027

University of California, Los Angeles: Portuguese

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Grace

Grace

Virginia

Grace

Grace

Virginia

Class of 2027

Virginia Tech: Clinical Neuroscience

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email Grace

Lauren

Lauren

Virginia

Lauren

Lauren

Virginia

Class of 2027

University of Virginia: Biology; Spanish

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Omar

Omar

Virginia

Omar

Omar

Virginia

Class of 2027

University of Virginia: Economics; Arabic

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Shaun

Shaun

Virginia

Shaun

Shaun

Virginia

Class of 2027

College of William & Mary: Neuroscience

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email Shaun

Will

Will

North Carolina

Will

Will

North Carolina

Class of 2027

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: English

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email Will

William

William

Virginia

William

William

Virginia

Class of 2027

College of William & Mary: Biology

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email William


 

Class of 2028

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Brooke

Brooke

Virginia

Brooke

Brooke

Virginia

Class of 2028

University of Virginia: Biology

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Chanel

Chanel

Virginia

Chanel

Chanel

Virginia

Class of 2028

Virginia Commonwealth University: Biology; Chemistry

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email Chanel

Eleanor

Eleanor

Pennsylvania

Eleanor

Eleanor

Pennsylvania

Class of 2028

Villanova University: Biology; French

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email Eleanor

Joshua

Joshua

Ontario, Canada

Joshua

Joshua

Ontario, Canada

Class of 2028

The University of Chicago: Biological Sciences - Endocrinology Specialization

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email Joshua

Kavin

Kavin

Ontario, Canada

Kavin

Kavin

Ontario, Canada

Class of 2028

Western University: Medical Sciences (Bachelor)
University of Toronto: Medical Science (MSc)

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Krishal

Krishal

Virginia

Krishal

Krishal

Virginia

Class of 2028

Virginia Commonwealth University: Biology

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Lana

Lana

Florida

Lana

Lana

Florida

Class of 2028

Barry University: BS in Chemistry; BA in English Literature

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email Lana

Randolph

Randolph

Virginia

Randolph

Randolph

Virginia

Class of 2028

Washington & Lee University: Biology

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email Randolph

Sam

Sam

Virginia

Sam

Sam

Virginia

Class of 2028

Washington & Lee University: Biology

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email Sam

Sydney

Sydney

Colorado

Sydney

Sydney

Colorado

Class of 2028

University of Michigan: Biology, Health, and Society

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Tess

Tess

North Carolina

Tess

Tess

North Carolina

Class of 2028

Earlham College: Biochemistry

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Tiffany's professional development experience

Tiffany, fmScholar, talks about how VCU and fmSTAT support her professional growth

Watch this video on Vimeo
Tiffany's professional development experience
nurturing professional growth

 

The greatest benefit of fmSTAT is the community of students who share similar goals. fmScholars have a variety of personal interests and envision doing a myriad or combination of things, but all aspire to be family physicians taking care of individuals, families and communities!

Our fmScholars' career interests:

  • Be a community leader and active advocate of public and preventative health
  • Work in a progressive and comprehensive patient-centered clinic
  • Live and work in a rural community
  • Concentrate on global health
  • Focus on sports medicine
  • Serve military families
  • Join a suburban group practice with a focus on adolescents and women
  • Work with low income families, underserved care, refugees, underserved minorities, recent immigrants
  • Provide women's health & FM/OB care
  • Be a medical educator/work in academics
  • Provide chronic disease and geriatric care
  • Practice in an outpatient setting
  • Start a direct primary care practice
  • Be a medical director/physician at a community health center
  • Provide gender affirming care
  • Concentrate on the addiction medicine
  • Work in practices which focus on lifestyle and integrative medicine
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Donate

Gifts to the fmSTAT Scholarship fund  provide fmScholars with tuition support to attract and retain these aspiring family physicians.  The benefits of your support are exponential as program graduates join our specialty and ultimately serve patients, families and communities.

Click to Donate!

 

Judy Gary, M.Ed.
judy.gary@vcuhealth.org
(804)828-5685

VCU Department of Family Medicine and Population health
Box 980251
Richmond, VA 23298-0251

West Hospital, 14th Floor, North Wing, 14-103
1200 East Broad Street
Richmond, VA 23298-0251