UNE medical students, administration testify in support of critical scholarship funding for medical education

A delegation of future Maine physicians and leadership from the state’s only medical school at the University of New England recently testified before a legislative committee in support of a crucial funding mechanism that will allow more students to pursue their medical education in the state and provide care for Mainers in the generations to come, including in underserved rural areas. 

UNE College of Osteopathic Medicine students Bethany Miles (D.O., ’25) and Max Russell (D.O., ’26), alongside medical dean and Vice President for Health Affairs Jane Carreiro, D.O. ’88, testified before the Maine Legislature’s Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs on March 31, urging lawmakers to again fund the Doctors for Maine’s Future Scholarship Program (LD 581).

The program, offered through the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME), has provided critical financial support to Maine medical students since its establishment in 2009. It awards upward of $25,000 annually to qualifying Maine medical students for all four years of their education, totaling up to $100,000 per recipient. 

UNE medical students receiving the scholarship participate in the Dirigo Scholars track, which focuses on rural primary care workforce development through placement and clinical mentorship at Northern Light Eastern Maine Medical Center (EMMC) in Bangor.

UNE medical students — plus students from the Tufts University School of Medicine MaineHealth Maine Medical Center Maine Track program, who also benefit from the Doctors for Maine’s Future Scholarship — testify before a legislative committee, tour the Maine State House, and meet with Maine Gov. Janet Mills. 

Miles, RN, B.S.N., a fourth-year medical student from Gorham, Maine, spoke passionately about how the scholarship made it possible for her to pursue a medical education in Maine while balancing the responsibilities of being a mother. 

“What was once an insurmountable financial hurdle became feasible for me and my family,” she told lawmakers. “Because of this scholarship, I have been able to complete the entirety of my medical school training in Maine. This allowed me to network and form great mentorships with Maine providers very early on, which undoubtedly played a role in my (residency placement) success.”

Miles recently matched with Maine Medical Center’s rural psychiatry residency program, ensuring that she will remain in Maine to serve local communities. She is one of 27 total UNE medical students to match to Maine residencies during the college’s annual Match Day celebration on March 21, where 170 future doctors gathered on UNE’s Portland Campus for the Health Sciences to celebrate their residency placements.

Carreiro, herself a 1988 graduate of UNE’s medical school, reinforced the scholarship program’s success in keeping physicians in the state, noting that 62% of UNE’s Doctors for Maine’s Future graduates are now practicing in Maine. 

“This is an effective program that attracts and retains physician talent to rural Maine communities,” she stated. “Every dollar from the State of Maine through FAME has to be matched by private donations, which doubles the number of scholarships that can be awarded. There are few such public-private partnerships that are more compelling or more successful.”

The College of Osteopathic Medicine is Maine’s only medical school and the premier educator of physicians for the state. 

With the opening of a new medical education center on the Portland Campus for the Health Sciences — the Harold and Bibby Alfond Center for Health Sciences — this summer, UNE is also expanding its medical school enrollment from 165 to 200 students per class to help address the growing shortage of physicians, eventually adding 35 more trained physicians to the workforce each year.

But, as Maine continues to grapple with its current shortage of physicians, particularly in rural areas, the delegation’s testimonies underscored the scholarship’s critical role in ensuring that aspiring doctors from Maine can afford medical school — and that they remain in the state to practice. 

“Without enough doctors, people wait longer for care, travel farther for basic medical needs, and sometimes go without necessary treatment,” said Russell, a third-year student currently training at MaineGeneral Hospital in Augusta. “This program is not just an investment in education — it’s an investment in Maine’s health, its communities, and its future.”