Donna L. Parker

University of Maryland School of Medicine

Dr. Donna L. Parker, senior associate dean for medical education at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, has focused her work on building programs that tie learner development directly to access, equity and workforce readiness across the state.

Parker helped lead the development of the Rural-MD Scholars Program, a four-year pathway designed to address the severe physician shortages on Maryland’s Eastern Shore. The program begins with a pre-matriculation immersion at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore and continues with the Rural Health Equity & Access Longitudinal Elective, mentored research experiences and sustained clinical training in communities federally designated as medically underserved. Full-tuition scholarships, mentorship and place-based training support students who are required to work for at least four years on the Eastern Shore. She has continued to mentor both learners and faculty as the program grows and evolves.

She also played a leadership role in developing the BS-MD Program in collaboration with the A. James Clark School of Engineering and the College of Computer, Mathematical, and Natural Sciences at College Park, a cohort-based pathway that brings engineering and data-science students into medicine through structured service, early clinical exposure at the medical school and a dedicated research year that bridges technology and patient care.

A phased expansion of the MD class — grown to its largest in history at 200 students — accompanied these initiatives, preserving educational quality while expanding advising, clinical placements and faculty mentorship to support learners pursuing rural health, primary care and technologically integrated career pathways.

Beyond her institutional work, Parker has maintained a mentoring relationship with a senior female faculty member from another school on campus who had recently stepped into a new leadership role. The faculty member has grown in confidence and effectiveness and has excelled in her current role, with conversations now focused on envisioning her next steps, preparing for future opportunities and developing a strategic path.

This is an honoree profile from The Daily Record’s Top 100 Women awards. Information for this profile was sourced from the honoree’s application for the award. The honoree profiles were written using an artificial intelligence program and supported by honoree nominations, applications and letters of recommendation. Each profile was reviewed, fact-checked and edited for accuracy by The Daily Record’s editorial staff.