The Class of 2021 voted to award the student Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award to Christopher Rodman and the faculty award to Nancy Denizard-Thompson, MD, Associate Professor, General Internal Medicine. The awards are presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation and are selected by students in the graduating medical school class as a vote of confidence in one of their peers and to express gratitude to a faculty member who has been most impactful on their understanding of humanism in medicine.
Chris’ peers stated that he is “both committed to compassion and empathy in patient care as well as scientific excellence,” that he “is the best person I have come to know in our medical school…he goes above and beyond for his patients and classmates,” and that Chris is “easily one of the most intelligent, caring, hardworking and competent people I have ever met.”
Nancy oversees the health equity curriculum and ensures that each student is trained to compassionately and properly care for underserved populations. Students commented that "Dr. Denizard-Thomspon is clearly dedicated to training physicians who are socially conscious and care for the whole patient,” and that her health equity curriculum “really gave me an appreciation of the underserved population.”
Award recipients demonstrate both clinical excellence and outstanding compassion in the delivery of care and who show respect for patients, their families, and healthcare colleagues. They demonstrate attitudes and behaviors that are sensitive to the values, autonomy, cultural, and ethnic backgrounds of others. The humanistic doctor demonstrates the following attributes: “I.E., C.A.R.E.S” – Integrity, Compassion, Altruism, Respect, Empathy, and Service.