Medicine alum’s scholarship supports general pediatrics students

In September 2024, Jessica K. Lewis, M.D. (M.D.’72, H.S.’75), made a gift of nearly $78,000 to support the Jessica K. Lewis, M.D. Scholarship in General Pediatrics. The fund provides a post-Match Day scholarship for VCU School of Medicine students with financial need who have matched in general pediatrics and plan to work in an underserved area. The scholarship was established with a gift from Lewis in 2021. In the years since, she has given more than $650,000.

Lewis first told her mother that she wanted to be a doctor when she was four years old. Her mother got her a toy doctor’s kit, which she played with until it fell apart. She remained determined to pursue medicine and started medical school at the Medical College of Virginia in 1967.

“I was a medical student for four years and stayed for another three years to do my residency in pediatrics,” Lewis says. “In those days, MCV was incredibly well-known for its care of indigent people and its clinical excellence. We really took care of patients.”

Lewis worked in pediatric intensive care for about 15 years. She began working in general pediatrics when she moved to Houston in 1982, and found it to be a fulfilling and important field.

“I go out to get meals with my former patients who are now in their 30s and 40s. In my last 10 years of practice, half of my patients were the children of my former patients,” Lewis says. “General pediatrics is not always fancy and it’s not always exciting, but it is so rewarding and so necessary.”

Despite the fundamental need for pediatric care, general pediatrics is the lowest-paid subspecialty in medicine. Lewis wanted to help support students who are facing the immense cost of education and encourage them to pursue general pediatrics.

“I didn’t go into general pediatrics until late in my training, and it turned out to be a wonderful, meaningful field for me,” Lewis says. “I want to help a student and a future doctor. I want to make it more possible for them to work where they’re needed.”