Medicine X | ED 2017 scholarship information

What is Medicine X | ED?
Medicine X | ED is a non-profit, academic conference held on the Stanford University campus, focused on the future of medical education in the new Millennium, the role technology and networked intelligence might play in driving educational innovation, the new challenges facing health care education in the new Millennium, as well as the need to change the culture of medical education to be more patient-centered, participatory and patient-safety-focused. Our next Medicine X | ED conference will be held April 22-23, 2017.

What is the Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student Scholarship program?
The Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student Scholarship program will provide up to 10 spots for ePatients and students to attend Medicine X | ED at Stanford, April 22-23, 2017. Full and partial scholarships are awarded based on applicants’ merit and are allocated to maximize impact with consideration given to financial need.

Who should apply for the Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student Scholarship program?
According to Tom Ferguson, founder of e-Patients.net, ePatients are individuals who are equipped, enabled, empowered and engaged in their health and health care decisions. Medicine X ePatient scholars are highly educated their own medical conditions, and use information technologies (e.g., Internet tools, social networks, self-tracking tools) in managing their health, learning from and teaching others. They are educators and role models for other patients and health care stakeholders.

Students who are enrolled full-time at an accredited degree-granting academic institution, and are interested in health care are eligible to apply for this program. Medicine X Student Leaders are undergraduates and graduate students, from a wide range of disciplines and majors. They have a history of student community engagement, outreach and advocacy, and actively use emerging technologies and/or social media. If accepted, the award will be valid if the applicant graduates from their educational program before the conference.

How can Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student Scholarship recipients participate in the conference?
Applicants may apply to one or more tracks, and will be placed into the track that best fits their talents and goals, with applicants’ preference taken into consideration. The Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student Scholarship slots are allocated for attendees (Partnership Track), speakers (Presenter Track), or creative problem solvers (Design Track). Conference participation is limited to one track per scholarship recipient, and one applicant can receive no more than one scholarship per year.

I have already received a Stanford Medicine X ePatient or Student Scholarship in the past. Am I allowed to apply again?
Alumni of the Stanford Medicine X ePatient and Student Leadership Program may apply for and receive scholarships in subsequent years. To encourage growth, they will be placed into a new track that they did not previously participate in.

What are the expectations and responsibilities of Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student Scholarship recipients?
Selection as a Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient or Student Scholarship recipient confers certain expectations and responsibilities upon recipients. Complete conference attendance is expected, with scholarship recipients arriving on time and staying throughout the duration of the conference until closing remarks on Sunday, April 23, 2017. Participants are expected to participate in the ePatient and student collaborative challenges. Scholarship recipients are tasked with using the knowledge and skills gained at Medicine X | ED to advance their individual advocacy efforts. Scholarship recipients will receive a certificate of recognition for their attendance.

I’m a patient/student and I haven’t been to an academic conference before. Is Medicine X | ED really an academic conference designed for everyone?
Absolutely. The atmosphere at Medicine X | ED is unlike that of a traditional academic medical conference. Attendees from around the world and across the health care spectrum embrace patients as a nexus of innovation and inspiration to drive their work in patient care, technology development, education and research. Medicine X | ED represents an opportunity to share the stories and lessons learned as patients, as people, and as partners in care.

Many of our past ePatient and Student Leadership scholarship recipients shared their experience through the engagement track and published their experiences through social media on blogs and podcasts. Below is an assorted collection of these postings.

• Christopher Snider, Just Talking Podcast, with 2012 Scholarship recipients Cherise Shockley and Kim Vlasnik. Christopher also published a blog post of his experience.

• Please review these blog posts by ePatients and Students about Stanford Medicine X 2015.

“Medicine X is what took me from being a patient involved in her own health to becoming an advocate for others. It was so inspiring and eye-opening—it was about possibilities and problem solving. Medicine X renews the sense of hope that we can restore the caring part of healthcare.” — Sarah E. Kucharski

“Traditionally, medical education meetings are where deans, program directors, and educators meet to prescribe a top-down vision of what’s best for medical learners. Medicine X|Ed—and naturally, Medicine X is anything but traditional—takes the opposite approach. It begins with the end users, learners and patients.” – Amol Utrankar

How much is registration if I am selected to receive a scholarship?
A partial scholarship reduces the registration rate for the three day conference to $199.00. Full scholarship recipients are not required to pay a registration fee.

Why would you charge patients and students to attend Medicine X | ED?
Medicine X | ED is an academic non-profit conference—not a medical industry event or trade show. Operating funds are derived exclusively from registration fees, donations and grant income. Partial scholarship recipients receive all the knowledge, opportunities, and interaction afforded to full scholarship recipients; however, the awarding of partial scholarships allows Medicine X to extend financial assistance to the greatest number of patients and students possible.

Will I get paid a salary or honorarium to attend Medicine X | ED?
No. Because Medicine X | ED is an academic conference, most speakers pay registration fees to attend and present their work at our conference.

How much in out-of-pocket expenses should I budget to attend Medicine X | ED?
Plan to cover transportation (airfare, rental car, gas, etc.) and at least three nights’ accommodations. Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student Scholarship recipients are expected to attend the conference in full, arriving on time and staying until the conference closes the afternoon of Sunday, April 23, 2017. Reduced hotel rates are available, and rooming with another scholarship recipient is recommended to reduce costs. Breakfast and lunch are provided at the conference venue with reasonable accommodations made for dietary needs. Conference hotels are within walking distance of several restaurants and a grocery store. Additional consideration should be given to any lost wages from time taken off from work.

Are travel funds provided?
Scholarship recipients with financial need may be eligible for limited travel scholarship funds to facilitate their attendance at Medicine X | ED. In the application process, applicants complete both an application to a needs-blind, merit-based selection system as well as a separate financial assistance application. Applicants are tasked with determining and demonstrating their own financial need as evidenced by employment status, income, and other personal hardships. Financial need statements will be considered both for the awarding of full and partial scholarships and the awarding of travel scholarships. Financial need does not affect an applicant’s merit-based application.

How can I apply for a Stanford Medicine X | ED Scholarship?
Scholarship applications open early December 2016. Awards will be announced by the end of February 2017. Please sign up for the Medicine X email list to be notified when scholarship applications become available online.

I’m a resident/researcher: Can I apply for the Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student Scholarship?
Unfortunately you may not apply for a scholarship. Only ePatients and full-time students enrolled at an accredited degree-granting academic institution, working towards a degree may apply for this program. Medicine X | ED provides discounted registration rates for academic researchers and students.

How are Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student scholarship recipients selected?
Successful applicants demonstrate a history of patient engagement, community outreach and advocacy. Preference is given to individuals using emerging technologies and social media such as blogs, podcasts, Twitter, Facebook. In the application process, applicants complete both an application to a needs-blind, merit-based selection system as well as a separate financial assistance application. The Medicine X ePatient and Student Advisory Panels will review applications, narrows the field of applicants by merit, ranks applicants, and conducts short live video based interviews of finalists. Only after this initial ranking process are financial need statements considered. The most highly-ranked applicants receive priority consideration for financial assistance. All final decisions are made by the conference director.

Selection Process and Waitlisting
Applicants will submit their completed applications no later than the deadlines stated below with no exceptions or extensions granted. Applications will then be reviewed by members of the respective Advisory Panel, and ranked according to the above selection criteria. Applicants will then be placed in tracks according to both their preference and the track the Panel feels most suits the applicant.

Those not accepted to the final scholarship positions will be waitlisted for Medicine X 2017. Waitlisted applicants may be offered a Program position at any time prior to the conference in the event that another Delegate is unable to attend, however, if a waitlisted Delegate is accepted into the Program late in the process, he or she may have limited access to travel and accommodations awards.

Is financial need considered during the Stanford Medicine X | ED ePatient and Student Scholarship selection process?
Yes and no. Applications are first evaluated on merit alone. Once the list is reduced to the top qualifying applicants, and rankings are finalized, we will then consider financial need. Our aim is to provide sufficient support for the most highly-ranked ePatients and students to attend the conference under partial or full scholarships, but financial need will not influence the qualifications of an scholarship applicant.