The San Damiano Scholars in the College of Osteopathic Medicine program equips future physicians to integrate faith, service, and healing. Through spiritual formation and hands-on service, students grow as compassionate healers and missionary disciples, renewing the Church and the world through their vocation.
Seeking an education where faith is central? Deepen your understanding of Catholic Franciscan health care ethics and spirituality through a structured scholarship curriculum.
Want to journey through med school with an intentional community? Grow as a disciple with support from Catholic physician mentors, spiritual leaders, and fellow San Damiano Scholars.
Looking for a meaningful med school experience? Develop servant leadership skills by engaging in community-based service projects and reflective practices.
Thanks to over two decades of transformative impact, the San Damiano Scholars Program at Marian University has become a nationally recognized model for forming faith-filled leaders. Rooted in the Franciscan tradition and inspired by the call of Christ to Saint Francis—“Rebuild my Church”—the program has equipped undergraduate students to integrate their faith with their academic and professional pursuits.As the healthcare landscape grows more complex, the need for compassionate, ethically grounded physicians is more urgent than ever.
The San Damiano Scholars in COM initiative responds to this need by forming missionary disciples who are not only clinically excellent but spiritually and morally prepared to serve the whole person—body, mind, and soul.
By integrating the proven formation model of the undergraduate program with the unique demands of medical education, SDS in COM offers a holistic experience that nurtures scholarship, discipleship, and leadership. Students will engage deeply with Catholic bioethics, receive mentorship from faith-filled physicians, and serve vulnerable populations through community clinics. This is not just an academic enhancement — it’s a vocational journey that prepares future doctors to heal with both skill and grace.
Phillip Thompson, Ph.D., J.D.
Semler Chair of Ethics, Department of Theology
Phone: 317-955-6134
Email: pthompson@marian.edu
Bio: Phillip M. Thompson has law degrees from the University of Georgia (J.D.) and DePaul University (LL.M. Health Law) and a Ph.D. from the Committee on the History of Culture on Catholicism and Science from the University of Chicago. After being a trial lawyer for a decade and managing a law firm, Dr. Thompson attended the University of Chicago and then spent twenty years in academic life beginning as the Patricia A. Hayes Professor of Ethics at Saint Edward’s University, Leadership Studies at Georgia Tech, and director of the Aquinas Center of Theology at Emory University. For five years, he was the Vice President of Mission for Mercy Hospital, a hospital on Newsweek’s top 400 hospitals in the world where he participated in and oversaw clinical ethics and medical ethics instruction as well as the community health and pastoral care departments. He is the author of three books and over twenty-five articles on bioethics, Catholic social thought, Catholicism and science and technology, business ethics, law and society, leadership, and Catholic themes in movies. His current research interest is focused on Artificial Intelligence and Health Care.
