ACP's Global Physician Scholar (GPS) Program provides opportunities for early*/mid-career physicians from outside the United States and Canada to gain expertise in a focused area relating to the prevention, diagnosis, and/or management of a clinical problem in internal medicine and the subspecialties.
*ACP defines an Early Career Physician as a physician Fellow or Member of ACP who is within sixteen years of graduating medical school, who is not a Student Member, transitional Medical Graduate, or Resident/Fellow Member of ACP.
Candidates must be early and mid-career internal medicine physicians/subspecialists of internal medicine and must be ACP Members or Fellows in good standing. Post-graduate trainees (PGY 3-5) in their final year of training before obtaining a medical license for independent practice are also eligible for the Global Physician Scholar Program.
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The Global Physician Scholar Program is accepting candidates from March 31, 2025 to June 17, 2025.
Program Goals
- Allow early and mid-career internal medicine physician members to participate in short-term experiences provided by senior faculty in academic medical institutions in the United States and Canada.
- Allow scholars to participate in ACP’s Internal Medicine Meeting (complimentary registration and expenses included in stipend) to benefit from education courses, professional development, and knowledge sharing.
- Enable scholars to acquire updated knowledge and skills to improve the delivery of care in their country through an independent project to be completed post-programming.
Timeline
- March 31, 2025: Call for applications
- June 17, 2025: Application deadline
- October 2025: Applicants notified
- February, April or May 2026: Suggested period of experience
- April 16 - 18, 2026: Attendance at Internal Medicine Meeting 2026 in San Fransisco, California
What to Expect as a Global Physician Scholar
- Scholars will acquire knowledge, experience, and skills that they can apply, utilize, and disseminate to colleagues upon return to their home country.
- Faculty mentors at host sites will engage scholars in individual/group clinical and educational experiences and facilitate the design of an independent project to be implemented in each recipient’s country upon their return. No direct patient care will be offered.
- Permitted Activities: Attend educational sessions such as lectures, case conferences, workshops, and grand rounds. Observe educational activities taking place in the community, clinical, or research setting.
- Prohibited Activities: Scholars may not interact with patients individually. Scholars may not treat or examine patients in any way, write in/on charts or EHR, provide medical care, surgical care, or give medical advice to patients.
- Scholars will select one area of study in a particular area of competency they wish to acquire or improve on during their experience. Each scholar must complete a written report and design an independent project during the experience for implementation in their home country.
- Experiences should last about four weeks with the supervision of a mentor/host.
- Up to $8,000 will be awarded to each scholar. These funds are for travel and living expenses, as well as hotel accommodation at the ACP Internal Medicine Meeting. Advanced funding will be sent to each awardee shortly after they are selected. A final balance of the award will be paid upon receipt of the final report and documentation of all expenses.
- A final report is required to be submitted to ACP within one month of GPS completion.
Note: For scholars requiring a visa to the United States or Canada, ACP can provide a supporting invitation letter for use in the visa application, but is unable to facilitate additional assistance with the visa application process.
2024-25 Scholars
Host: Amanda Vest, MBBS, MPH at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio
Dr. Noora Alhajri is a physician scientist who earned her MBBCh BAO from the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and earned a master's degree in Epidemiology and Biostatistics from George Washington University, D.C., USA. She completed postdoctoral research fellowships at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, Baltimore, MD, and at the National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Aging (NIH/ NIA), Baltimore, MD, studying the age associated changes that occur within the cardiovascular system.
Dr. Alhajri has also served as a lecturer in medicine and epidemiology at Khalifa University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, where she taught various courses in medicine and research. Currently, she is pursuing internal medicine residency at the Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, with a keen interest in the applications of AI in medicine and improving patient outcomes in heart failure and mechanical circulatory support. Dr. Alhajri will complete her GPS project at the Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland Ohio, to develop a remote monitoring protocol for HF patients to reduce HF readmission rate and the associated healthcare costs.
Host: Marielle Scherrer-Crosbie, MD, PhD, at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Host: Pankaj Shah, MD at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota
Host: Gregory Plotnikoff, MD, MTS, FACP at Minnesota Personalized Medicine, Minneapolis, MinnesotaAdditional Information
Past GPS (Formerly IFEP) Awardees
For more information please contact Dana Acord, Program Coordinator at dacord@acponline.org.