2025 Application Cycle
Open date: June 1, 2025
Deadline: August 31, 2025
The Physician Associates in Hospice and Palliative Medicine (PAHPM), a constituent organization of the AAPA, offers $1,500 scholarship grants to currently enrolled PA students.
This scholarship was created to honor the memory of Eva Dimitrov and her journey through serious illness and her discovery of how meaningful a role those who cared for her, her family and caregivers, can play. Eva was a sister, physician, mother, wife, daughter, and colleague who realized the full impact of her terminal condition from the time of diagnosis, and found the infinite value of a spiritual connection in her life journey. The caregiving role—played not only by her family and physical caregivers, but also her medical providers and team—starts really from the time of diagnosis. Her husband and sister recognized the value behind these individuals, and the need to develop communication and compassion skills that are vital to the understanding of the word “palliation” which is “to come beside and comfort.”
This scholarship aims to help train future ‘caregiver’ PAs with those very intentions. The hope is that PA students who are ready to go that extra step in steeping themselves in serious illness care can have the right resources and tools to learn what it means to palliate from the very beginning of disease. Our hope is to provide just a glimmer of hope and to be honest, caring guides for those patients, families, and caregivers suffering from serious illness and/or terminal illness.
Candidate Requirements:
- Student in good standing, with a minimum GPA of 3.0 (unofficial transcripts should be sent with the application) at an accredited Physician Assistant Program in the United States
- Membership in PAHPM (Click here for FREE PAHPM Student Membership)
- Membership in AAPA/SAPPA (Click here for AAPA Student Membership Page)
- Demonstration of interests in the fields of hospice and palliative medicine, with interest in the care of patients and families with serious illness. Includes clinical experiences specifically in palliative medicine and hospice care planned in the clinical year.
- Letter of recommendation from an instructor or preceptor.
Scholarship:
One scholarship will be awarded annually from the PA Foundation sponsored fund.
Amount: A one-time $1,500 scholarship grant
To Apply:
Complete the online application here: Online PAHPM Student Scholarship Application Form
For the application you will need to provide:
- Applicant name, mailing address, email, and phone number
- Identify yourself as a 1st or 2nd year PA student in good standing
- Name, phone number, and email of your program director and/or faculty advisor
- Last unofficial/official interim grade report from your PA program
- Applicant resume/CV
- A letter of recommendation from a professor or a clinical supervisor is also required.
- It should include how they know and have interacted with you, and they should be aware of the program’s clinical sites your interest in caring for those with serious and terminal illnesses.
- Their letter should comment on why the student should be considered for the scholarship, their maturity/emotional level, and ability to work with others on a team if observed.
- The letter of recommendation should be emailed to the PAHPM Board at info@pahpm.org.
- Personal statement: Please include a 750 word or less typed personal statement on a separate page. Your statement should include personal background, pertinent experiences and/or interests in working with patients, families, and caregivers experiencing serious illness and/or terminal illness. State your future goals and expectations upon completing your PA program studies, and why you feel you should be considered for a PAHPM student scholarship grant.
Suggestions for discussion could include:
- What does holistic care mean to you? How will you, as a PA, strive to incorporate this approach into a potential rotation, should you be selected?
- Share an experience in which you observed or facilitated conversations around palliative care and quality of life. What did you take from the experience and how can you incorporate that into your practice? How would you approach those discussions and prepare if this is the first time the conversation is occurring with a particular patient and family.
Applications should be submitted online: Online PAHPM Student Scholarship Application Form
Important Dates:
Open: June 1-August 31, 2025
Recipient announced: September 2025
For Questions:
Email: info@pahpm.org
For more information, visit the PAHPM website.