We wish to continue to attract students who want to be terrific physicians - the clinical training at Columbia is second to none given the case mix of the hospital; however, in addition a major part of our role is to train physicians not only for private practice but to be cutting edge master clinicians within the academic medical center. Quite simply, our goal is to attract medical students who know they want to remain in academic medicine - and to enter either clinical subspecialty or research fellowships following residency. To that end, in November 2002 we instituted the Virginia Apgar Scholars Program. Medical students commit to either a two year clinical or research fellowship program following residency - they have to designate whether they wish to be a clinical or basic science scholar. Basic Science Scholars will enter our NIH T32 program. They become members of the Virginia Apgar Society, are on the committee to select the Virginia Apgar Annual Lecturer, and receive a $15,000 annual supplement during their CA1, CA2, CA3, and fellowship years.

Virginia Apgar Scholarship Application

All Virginia Apgar Scholars are members of the Virginia Apgar Society.

	Margaret Wood, MD (Honorary President)
Rebecca Bauer 2007	Connie Chung 2007	May Hua 2007
Sarah Smith 2007	Steven Yap 2007	Christopher Gay 2006
Elena Reitman 2006	Laurence Ring 2005	George Gallos 2004
Neil Gleason 2004	Julia Sobol 2004	Hannah Wunsch 2004

"Participating in the Virginia Apgar Scholars program has been a wonderfully rewarding experience. Here at Columbia, our department does more than claim a dedication to academic pursuits it delivers by fostering an atmosphere conducive to training the next generation of leaders in academic medicine and biomedical research. I have been especially impressed by its commitment to providing diverse mentorship, a true sense of collegiality, and for allowing the flexibility and latitude to tailor projects with my particular interests in mind."

George Gallos
Virginia Apgar Scholar
NIH T32-Trainee

Dr. Gallos received 1st prize in the ASA Residents Research Competition in 2004 and Dr. Hannah Wunsch 3rd prize in the same competition for 2006. Their abstracts can be accessed here. It is evident that the Virginia Apgar Society is growing and of course will continue to grow as the years go on. The Virginia Apgar Endowed Society Lecturers can be accessed here.