Healthy Minds, Better Medicine: Supporting DC’s Medical Students When They Need It Most February 26, 2026

Every spring, medical students across Washington, DC, enter one of the most demanding periods of their training. Exam season brings weeks of long study hours and pressure. For many students, wellness becomes an afterthought — something to get back to after the last test is over.

But research tells us something important: the habits physicians build around stress, self-care, and wellbeing don’t start in residency or practice. They start in medical school. And too often, they start with burnout.

That’s why the Healthy Physician Foundation is launching Healthy Minds, Better Medicine — a fundraising campaign to deliver wellness care packages to medical students at all three DC medical schools during April exam season.

Building on Last Year’s Success

In 2025, the Foundation ran its first student-focused fundraising campaign. With support from MSDC members and attendees at the Capital Healthcare Honors dinner, we raised $900 and delivered care packages to all three schools. It was a modest start — but the response from students was unmistakable. They noticed and they were grateful. And they wanted more.

This year, we’re setting our sights higher. Our goal is to raise $5,000 to deliver enhanced care packages and, if we reach our stretch goals, fund wellness workshops and micro-grants for student-led wellness projects at each school.

What’s in a Care Package?

Each care package is designed to do two things: provide immediate support during exam week and introduce students to wellness resources they can use for the rest of their careers.

Inside every package:

• Healthy snacks — granola bars, trail mix, dried fruit, and tea to fuel long study sessions
• Stress-relief items — stress balls, aromatherapy rollers, and eye masks
• Wellness journals — mindfulness prompt cards to encourage daily reflection
• Foundation resources — an information card connecting students to wellness resources and peer support
• A handwritten note — a personal message of encouragement from a DC physician

Why Exam Season?

We chose to deliver during spring exams intentionally. This is the moment when stress peaks, when students are most likely to neglect their own health, and when a small act of support can have an outsized impact. A care package that arrives during the hardest week of the semester says something powerful: the DC medical community sees you, supports you, and believes your wellbeing matters.

But the goal isn’t just to get students through one week. It’s to plant a seed. When a student opens a wellness journal, this are the beginnings of habits that will serve them through residency, practice, and an entire career in medicine.

How Your Gift Makes a Difference

Every dollar raised goes directly toward student impact. Here’s what your one-time gift can do:

Your Gift = What It Funds
$25 = Wellness journal + stress relief kit for a student
$50 = Healthy snack and mindfulness resource pack
$100 = Complete care package with Foundation wellness resources
$250 = Sponsor an entire school’s care package
$500+ = Care packages + help fund a wellness workshop at a medical school

If we reach our stretch goals, we’ll also fund wellness workshops at each school and three $500 “Future Healer” micro-grants for student-led wellness initiatives — empowering students to design their own solutions to the challenges they face every day.

The Campaign Timeline

Healthy Minds, Better Medicine runs from now through March 31, 2026, culminating during National Physicians Week (March 25–31). The campaign will be featured at the 2026 Capital Healthcare Honors dinner on March 25 — our biggest in-person fundraising moment of the year.

Care packages will be delivered in April, timed to coincide with spring exam season at Georgetown, GW, and Howard.

How to Give

Donating is simple. Visit this link to make a tax-deductible gift of any size. Every dollar goes directly toward student care packages and wellness resources.

You can also support the campaign by sharing this post with colleagues, following us on social media, and spreading the word. The more people who know about Healthy Minds, Better Medicine, the more students we can reach.

Thank You

Last year, this community showed up for DC’s medical students. This year, we have the chance to do even more.

Whether you give $25 or $500, your gift sends a message that the DC medical community invests in the wellbeing of its future physicians — not just after they earn their white coats, but well before.

Thank you for being part of Healthy Minds, Better Medicine. Wellness starts well before the white coat.