Anahita Gupta and Esther Lee are among 13 medical students selected as 2024 Gold Student Summer Fellows.
Anahita Gupta and Esther Lee are among 13 medical students selected for The Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s annual Gold Student Summer Fellowship, a prestigious program that offers opportunities for medical students to undertake a research or service project related to community health and to develop skills to become a compassionate, relationship-centered physician. They will be spearheading summer projects that amplify humanistic healthcare and help address health inequities that involve direct interaction with patients and community members.
Gupta and Lee’s project will address the unique challenges of accessing the healthcare system for people experiencing homelessness. The goal of this project is to enhance care coordination for patients at UNC Health by addressing gaps in communication. In partnership with the Orange County Partnership to End Homelessness, a North Carolina-based coalition of service providers, local governments, and community members, this project will propose strategies to link patients who are homeless with community-based case managers while patients are still in the hospital.
“I was so excited! I felt so much gratitude to be selected for this program and couldn’t wait to start working on this project,” said Gupta.
“I couldn’t believe it at first that Anahita and I were selected for the program!” Lee said. “I’m so excited and grateful to have this opportunity to support our goals in serving underserved communities.”
The project will foster a patient-centered approach and direct engagement through interviews with people who are experiencing homelessness.
“Gold Student Summer Fellowships offer medical students the opportunity to explore healthcare beyond the hospital walls,” said Elizabeth Cleek, PsyD, Chief Operating Officer and Senior Vice President of the Gold Foundation. “This year, we are delighted to fund seven excellent, student-designed projects that foster human-centered care and incorporate the essential voices of patients and community members. Each project will not only make a tangible difference, but will inform the ways in which Summer Fellows will impact healthcare for the better as they move forward in their careers.”
The Gold Foundation’s programs, which include the White Coat Ceremony and Gold Humanism Honor Society, have reached hundreds of thousands of clinicians, students, and healthcare leaders, emphasizing the importance of humanism and sharing tools to connect more deeply with patients.