A Southeast Arkansas resident is one of two students to receive a $20,000 Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield Primary Care Scholarship at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.
Julie Sherrill, a junior from Dumas, and Evan Branscum, a senior from Marshall received the scholarships which encourage aspiring physicians to pursue primary care practices in rural Arkansas.
Sherrill graduated from Dumas High School and received her undergraduate degree from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She plans to pursue a career in family medicine upon graduating from UAMS in 2018. Primarily, her interests are in Southeast Arkansas, including Desha and Arkansas counties, according to a news release.
Small towns like Dumas are part of the appeal to practice there, Sherrill said in the release.
“I love small towns,” Sherrill said. “I love the people. I love the slower pace. You can’t beat the relationships, the hospitality, and the support that a rural community can offer.”
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Sherrill recognizes the need that rural areas in Arkansas have for primary care, the release said.
“I have personally witnessed the degree to which communities in rural Arkansas suffer due to the lack of medical care,” Sherill said.
Sherrill spent time shadowing family physicians in Dumas and McGehee. Upon receiving her undergraduate degree, she spent time as an EMT with Dumas Emergency Medical Services, where she learned about listening and relating to patients in distress.
“I realize I can’t save the world, but I can use my training to serve a community of people that truly needs help,” Sherrill said.
Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield established the endowed scholarship in 2010 with a $1 million gift to the UAMS Foundation Fund.
Branscum graduated from Marshall High School and received his undergraduate degree at the U of A. He plans to practice in north central Arkansas or near Searcy County.
“One of the most important things urban areas have that rural areas lack is access to health care,” Branscum said. “Marshall only had two physicians for the majority of my childhood. That was two physicians not only in Marshall, but also the only two in the whole county of 8,000 people.”
Branscum shadowed and worked alongside family physicians in Marshall and Tontitown, where he was able to learn more about primary care in a rural setting.