Arlington County Medical Society increases scholarship funding

Members of the Arlington County Medical Society (ACMS) presented a $16,000 check to the Wakefield High School Education Foundation on May 22 in support of scholarship funding.

This year, the endowment amount was increased by one-third from the previous amount (from $12,000) to keep pace with the increased costs of higher education.

Dr. Shashi Ranganath, president-elect of the medical society, explained that each year the society raises funds to support this important cause as a way for the community and its physician members to give back to the future of medicine – amid a national shortage of physicians intensified by the ever-increasing expenses of medical school and the high demands/competition of the medical field.

ACMS not only offers the eponymous scholarship under the Wakefield Education Foundation, but also offers its researchers networking opportunities through the medical society and shadowing/educational experiences led by Dr. David Lee, Medical Director of the HCV Health Foundation and Medical Society of Arlington County. member of the Council.

Millie Lawson, representing the Wakefield High School Education Foundation, updated the members in attendance with the achievements and inspirational developments of current and past ACMS Scholars. One scholar is currently a nurse with an orthopedic surgery unit at Virginia Commonwealth University Medical Center, she noted; another is starting a doctoral program in clinical psychology, and a current student is a pre-med major with biology and health care Spanish double-minor at the University of Delaware.

“Whether these young professionals eventually return to our area to practice or not, they are undoubtedly making a huge impact in their respective communities,” the society noted. “Once an Arlingtonian, always an Arlingtonian!”