Scholarship

Harold T. Pruessner, MD Medical Student Scholarship

History

Established in 1995 by HCAFP via the TAFP Foundation, funded through a Shooting Star Gala fundraiser from 2000–2003. The scholarship is now funded through Century Club membership and outside donors. The first scholarships were awarded in July 2001 — one from Baylor College of Medicine and one from McGovern Medical School, awarded annually. The amount was raised to $2,000 each in 2008, and the University of Houston College of Medicine was later added. Beginning in 2021, one $5,000 scholarship is awarded to a Houston-area student once they match into a Family Medicine residency program.

Criteria

The applicant should be a 3rd-year medical student in good standing who has completed a family medicine rotation, with a strong interest in or having chosen family medicine. Special consideration (not required) is given to students considering practice in underserved areas.

Application Procedure

Contact Maaria Farooqi (Assistant to Michael Altman, MD, Scholarship Committee Chair), 713-500-7604, Maaria.Farooqi@uth.tmc.edu, by the application deadline. Applicants must provide:

• Transcript
• Letter of good standing from the Office of Student Affairs
• Letter of recommendation (academic professor and/or physician, preferably Family Medicine)
• Personal statement (one page or less)
• CV

Notification & Presentation

The recipient is notified by the end of July and recognized at an HCAFP meeting. Funds are contingent on matching into a Family Medicine residency program; the $5,000 check is mailed following match results. If the recipient does not match into Family Medicine, the funds go to the runner-up who does match.