Dr. Jennifer Maya
Dr. Jennifer Maya grew up in Northwest Indiana. She comes from a Mexican immigrant family. Dr. Maya went to Indiana University, Northwest where she was part of the premedical program as a Biology major. While she was an undergraduate, Dr. Maya participated in a mini medical school camp in Chicago. This allowed her to take medical schools classes and receive tips on applying to medical school. In addition, the premedical program at IU also had many helpful speakers.
Dr. Maya heard about the Indiana Primary Care Scholarship Program from one of these talks. The Indiana Primary Care Scholarship was created to increase the number of primary care physicians in Indiana’s medically underserved areas. The scholarship pays for in-state IUSM medical school tuition and applicable fees for all four years of medical school. In exchanged, the medical student must commit to practicing primary health care in one of Indiana’s medically underserved areas for each year of scholarship support. Dr. Maya explained, “Almost everywhere is underserved for Indiana.” To qualify for this scholarship, students must be accepted or enrolled at IUSM and be an Indiana resident (although an exception can be made for non-residents). This was such an enticing offer and one of her main reasons for attending IUSM. She said how nice it was to see her tuition bills say $0. However, the scholarship does not include a stipend. The scholarship does not require doctors to stay in Indiana for their residency, as long as they fulfill their commitment later.
Dr. Maya did her residency at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mishawaka. Although the minimum requirement for the scholarship is two years, Dr. Maya served four years in the program. The scholarship asks recipients which county they would like to work. Even if their county of chose is no longer an underserved area, the doctor can still practice there. Dr. Maya explained that “the catch” to this scholarship is that if one decides to back out, the doctor would be charged with very high interest.
Dr. Maya is now a family physician at HealthLinc in Valparaiso, Indiana. She knew that she wanted to be work in underserved areas for two reasons. She explained that the first reason is that she saw the lack of primary care growing up in Northwest Indiana. Her family members experienced problems from having a lack of access to care. She said it took about thirty minutes to drive to the closest hospital. Her second motivation for her career was the care she saw for her Mexican family. She observed how this subset population needed more medical attention and care. In Valparaiso, Dr. Maya serves a large Spanish-speaking population, including undocumented workers. Most of her patients have Medicaid or are uninsured.
Her advice to premedical students was, “Don’t be afraid to approach primary care physicians and ask them to shadow. People underestimate what we do. You see a wide variety in primary care.” She emphasized that getting experience in the medical field is most important.
Contact information:
Email: [email protected]
Dr. Jennifer Maya grew up in Northwest Indiana. She comes from a Mexican immigrant family. Dr. Maya went to Indiana University, Northwest where she was part of the premedical program as a Biology major. While she was an undergraduate, Dr. Maya participated in a mini medical school camp in Chicago. This allowed her to take medical schools classes and receive tips on applying to medical school. In addition, the premedical program at IU also had many helpful speakers.
Dr. Maya heard about the Indiana Primary Care Scholarship Program from one of these talks. The Indiana Primary Care Scholarship was created to increase the number of primary care physicians in Indiana’s medically underserved areas. The scholarship pays for in-state IUSM medical school tuition and applicable fees for all four years of medical school. In exchanged, the medical student must commit to practicing primary health care in one of Indiana’s medically underserved areas for each year of scholarship support. Dr. Maya explained, “Almost everywhere is underserved for Indiana.” To qualify for this scholarship, students must be accepted or enrolled at IUSM and be an Indiana resident (although an exception can be made for non-residents). This was such an enticing offer and one of her main reasons for attending IUSM. She said how nice it was to see her tuition bills say $0. However, the scholarship does not include a stipend. The scholarship does not require doctors to stay in Indiana for their residency, as long as they fulfill their commitment later.
Dr. Maya did her residency at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Mishawaka. Although the minimum requirement for the scholarship is two years, Dr. Maya served four years in the program. The scholarship asks recipients which county they would like to work. Even if their county of chose is no longer an underserved area, the doctor can still practice there. Dr. Maya explained that “the catch” to this scholarship is that if one decides to back out, the doctor would be charged with very high interest.
Dr. Maya is now a family physician at HealthLinc in Valparaiso, Indiana. She knew that she wanted to be work in underserved areas for two reasons. She explained that the first reason is that she saw the lack of primary care growing up in Northwest Indiana. Her family members experienced problems from having a lack of access to care. She said it took about thirty minutes to drive to the closest hospital. Her second motivation for her career was the care she saw for her Mexican family. She observed how this subset population needed more medical attention and care. In Valparaiso, Dr. Maya serves a large Spanish-speaking population, including undocumented workers. Most of her patients have Medicaid or are uninsured.
Her advice to premedical students was, “Don’t be afraid to approach primary care physicians and ask them to shadow. People underestimate what we do. You see a wide variety in primary care.” She emphasized that getting experience in the medical field is most important.
Contact information:
Email: [email protected]