Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine to Offer Full Tuition Scholarships for All Students

Cleveland Clinic announced today that the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University is providing all its students with full tuition scholarships, beginning with this July's incoming class.

Approaching its fifth year in existence, the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine is dedicated to the training of physician scientists who are capable of furthering medical research and bringing the most advanced medical treatment to the patient bedside.

"The average debt for students graduating from private U.S. medical students, such as the Lerner College of Medicine, is more than $150,000, making many graduates less likely to pursue careers in academic medicine," said Delos M. "Toby" Cosgrove, M.D., President and CEO of Cleveland Clinic. "By providing full tuition support, we want to ensure that debt does not hinder the ability of our graduates to pursue academic careers as physician scientists."

Students currently enrolled in the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine will receive additional scholarship funding to offset 50% of the difference between past tuition paid and the financial aid they've already received. Cleveland Clinic will support the full tuition scholarships through existing endowment income and clinical operations. The long-term goal is to fund the scholarships entirely through endowment income.

"With rising debt levels a growing concern for medical education, we applaud efforts that provide students with full financial support to help them achieve their dreams of becoming physicians," said AAMC President and CEO, Darrell G. Kirch, M.D.

The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine enrolls 32 students annually and drew 1,423 highly qualified applicants this past year. The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine program is designed to train graduates who will have a solid combination of clinical and research skills and a passion for scientific inquiry. Graduates earn a medical degree (M.D.) with Special Qualification in Biomedical Research.

"Our nation and the world of medicine suffer from a shortage of physician scientists who are trained in the methods of science, and willing to devote their careers to the pursuit of knowledge and the advancement of medicine," said Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., Director of the National Institutes of Health. "Efforts such as the full tuition scholarship initiative announced by Cleveland Clinic are vital and serve as a catalyst for attracting and retaining some of medicine's brightest talent to the vast and growing field of clinical research."

Training the newest generation of physician scientists is an important aspect of the Clinic's mission and enhances the health system's long-term ability to provide patients with state-of-the-art healthcare.

"Offering full tuition scholarships is an investment in our future and the future of medicine," said Andrew Fishleder, M.D., Executive Dean of the Lerner College of Medicine. "We have been fortunate to have been able to attract outstanding students since the inception of our program."

This year, five Lerner College of Medicine students received the prestigious Howard Hughes Medical Institute-National Institutes of Health Research Scholars Program award, also known as the "Cloisters." The program is intended to give outstanding students at U.S. medical schools the opportunity to receive research training at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Md.

A sixth student received an HHMI Medical Student Research Fellowship that will support one year of research at Cleveland Clinic. In addition, three students received Doris Duke Clinical Research Fellowship awards, which are designed to support medical student research at selected academic medical centers and one student received a National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Training Program Award.

Cleveland Clinic, located in Cleveland, Ohio, is a not-for-profit multispecialty academic medical center that integrates clinical and hospital care with research and education. Cleveland Clinic was founded in 1921 by four renowned physicians with a vision of providing outstanding patient care based upon the principles of cooperation, compassion and innovation. U.S. News & World Report consistently names Cleveland Clinic as one of the nation's best hospitals in its annual "America's Best Hospitals" survey. Approximately 1,800 full-time salaried physicians and researchers at Cleveland Clinic and Cleveland Clinic Florida represent more than 100 medical specialties and subspecialties. In 2007, there were 3.5 million outpatient visits to Cleveland Clinic and 50,455 hospital admissions. Patients came for treatment from every state and from more than 80 countries. Cleveland Clinic's Web site address is http://www.clevelandclinic.org .