PORTLAND, Maine – MaineHealth celebrated the 37 students who make up this year’s graduating class in the Tufts University School of Medicine – MaineHealth Maine Track program during a ceremony at Hannaford Hall in the University of Southern Maine in Portland Saturday. The celebration is the Maine-based culminating event for fourth-year medical students who have completed their classroom instruction in Boston along with community-based practice in Maine. Students will graduate from Tufts on May 17 and this summer, begin their residencies, 11 of them at MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Portland.
Keynote speaker Dr. Jason Moran, a MaineHealth oncologist, recalls teaching Maine Track students about the characteristics of blood, and said he was inspired by their interest in what he calls community-based, relationship-centered medicine.
“Maine Track graduates don’t just become doctors,” Dr. Moran said. “They become part of the communities they serve. That’s rare, that’s needed, and that’s exactly what this state and country need more of right now.”
The Maine Track program is a partnership between MaineHealth and Tufts that formed 18 years ago to help address the shortage of doctors in Maine, provide financial assistance to aspiring medical students with a connection to Maine and develop an innovative curriculum focused on community-based education. MaineHealth’s annual Maine Track celebration marks the local recognition of the medical school students.
“Our time in the Maine Track has shaped us into well-trained physicians grounded in connection, resilience and community,” said student speaker Grace Gile, M26. “As we transition into residency, we take with us not only our education, but the ability to create supportive and meaningful environments wherever we land. That, more than anything, is what will define us as physicians moving forward.”
When this year’s class graduates, 516 physicians will have completed the Maine Track Program. 104 Maine Track graduates known to have completed their training are now practicing physicians in Maine, and 72 percent of them received a Maine Track scholarship.
MaineHealth awards more than $2 million in scholarship funds to 80 students each year through private donations as well as the state’s Doctors for Maine’s Future program, a public-private partnership in which MaineHealth matches state-funded scholarships of up to $25,000 per Maine student.
A bill to fully fund the Doctor’s for Maine’s Future scholarships was not funded by the Maine Legislature, and without legislative action, by 2030 the state will fund two fewer scholarships than it does now. While MaineHealth continues to urge the Legislature to fully fund the Doctors for Maine’s Future scholarship program, it’s also taking its own steps to address the rising cost of medical education by setting an ambitious goal of raising additional endowed funds to increase the scholarship awards it offers to $40,000 in the years ahead.
“MaineHealth recognizes that the cost of a medical degree is a major impediment to students pursuing careers in primary care and so we’re doing all we can to support our future physicians,” said Dr. Dena Whitesell, assistant dean for students in the Maine Track program. “We hope that the Legislature will find a way to fully fund the Doctors for Maine’s Future scholarship program as an investment in our health care system and our rural communities.”
View a recording of the Maine Track Celebration.
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About MaineHealth
MaineHealth is a not-for-profit, integrated health system whose vision is, “Working together so our communities are the healthiest in America,” and is committed to a mission of providing high-quality affordable care, educating tomorrow's caregivers and researching better ways to provide care. MaineHealth includes a Level 1 trauma medical center, eight additional licensed hospitals, comprehensive pediatric care services, an extensive behavioral health care network, diagnostic services as well as home health, hospice and senior care services. With more than 2,000 employed providers and approximately 23,000 care team members, MaineHealth provides preventive care, diagnosis and treatment to 1.1 million residents in Maine and New Hampshire. MaineHealth hospitals include MaineHealth Behavioral Health at Spring Harbor in Westbrook, MaineHealth Franklin Hospital in Farmington, MaineHealth Lincoln Hospital in Damariscotta, MaineHealth Maine Medical Center in Portland, Biddeford and Sanford, MaineHealth Memorial Hospital in North Conway, N.H., MaineHealth Mid Coast Hospital in Brunswick, MaineHealth Pen Bay Hospital in Rockport, MaineHealth Stephens Hospital in Norway and MaineHealth Waldo Hospital in Belfast. MaineHealth also includes the MaineHealth Barbara Bush Children’s Hospital in Portland, MaineHealth Behavioral Health in Westbrook, MaineHealth Home Health and Hospice in Saco, the MaineHealth Institute for Research in Scarborough, the MaineHealth Medical Group and MaineHealth NorDx in Scarborough. MaineHealth affiliates include MaineGeneral Health in Augusta and Waterville. It is also a significant stakeholder in the MaineHealth Accountable Care Organization in Portland and a joint venture partner in the New England Rehabilitation Hospital in Portland.