Gold Humanism Honor Society

Thank a Resident Day Media Kit

Thank a Resident Day was created by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation in 2018 to celebrate resident physicians and fellows and their essential contributions to human-centered care. We are so glad you are joining us on Friday, Feb. 27!

This media kit is designed to help you celebrate and share this opportunity with your community. If an institution, school, or residency site signs up by Feb. 6 to participate in Thank a Resident Day, we will send them receive free stickers in the mail.

Learn more on the Thank a Resident Day main page.

If you have questions or suggestions for other materials, please email Chief Communications Officer Brianne Alcala at balcala@gold-foundation.org. 

About Thank a Resident Day

We would appreciate it if you would include the below paragraph about the Gold Foundation’s role in Thank a Resident Day in articles, press releases, social media posts, or other communications.

Thank a Resident Day was created by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation in 2018 to celebrate resident physicians and fellows and their essential contributions to human-centered care. The Gold Foundation is a nonprofit organization that champions humanism in healthcare.

You may want to add how your own institution aligns with our mission of humanism in healthcare. We define humanism in healthcare as clinically excellent care that is kind, safe, and trustworthy. Thank you!

Call to Sign Up

Share this in newsletter, social media, or other channel to encourage residency sites to participate.

Option 1:

Sign Up Now for Thank a Resident Day
Mark your calendars for Friday, Feb. 27, for Thank a Resident Day, an annual day of gratitude for resident physicians and fellows that was created by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, a nonprofit that champions humanism in healthcare. Sign up by Feb. 6 to receive free Thank a Resident Day stickers in the mail to add to your festivities. Files to print a banner, celebration ideas, and more are available. Learn more here.

 

Option 2:

Join Our Celebration of Thank a Resident Day
[Association / Health System / Organization Name] is excited to celebrate Thank a Resident Day on Friday, Feb. 27, an annual day to show our gratitude to resident physicians and fellows for their human-centered care. We are proud to be partnering with The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, a nonprofit that champions humanism in healthcare and created Thank a Resident Day, to recognize resident physicians and fellows and their essential role in kind, safe, trustworthy care. Residency sites: Sign up by Feb. 6 to receive free Thank a Resident Day stickers in the mail to add to your festivities. Learn more here.

Vertical Image (1080×1350)

Click on the image to download a full-size image. If you are participating with Thank a Resident Day, you may add your logo to the option with a blank white space at the bottom. Access the Canva file here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Horizontal image (1200×628)

Click on the image to download a full-size image. If you are participating with Thank a Resident Day, you may add your logo to the option with a blank white space at the bottom. Access the Canva file here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Celebrating on Social on Feb. 27

We encourage you to celebrate Thank a Resident Day on social on Friday, Feb. 27!

You are welcome to use our Thank a Resident Day sticker image or the Gold Foundation logo, only in posts related to celebrating Thank a Resident Day.

 

Please tag The Arnold P. Gold Foundation in your social media posts:

A few ideas for images:

  • A group photo of your residents and fellows.
  • A photo of your CEO/dean/leader with residents and fellows. This is especially nice if posted from your leader’s LinkedIn
  • If you have a small resident group, you could create an image for each of them in advance and celebrate them personally.

A few ideas for videos:

  • Write out a short statement of gratitude to resident physicians and fellows. Record 5+ people in your organization reading the script. Slice it up so the statement is read smoothly, going from one person to the next to the next.
  • Have your CEO or leader record a heartfelt video message. See an example from the CEO of the Mount Sinai Health System.
  • Take short clips of residents holding signs of gratitude. See an example from University of Mississippi Radiology.

Share your photos in our album

Upload photos from your celebration to the 2026 Thank a Resident Day album.

Please rename the files before you upload to include your institution’s name.

For example:

NO: IMG_5125.jpg

YES: ECU_Rural_Family _Medicine_Residents.jpg

We will be resharing a selection of photos and would love to showcase your celebration.

By uploading photos, you are giving the Gold Foundation permission to share them publicly. Please make sure any people in the photos are OK with being shared on social, our website, newsletter, and other channels.

View the 2025 Thank a Resident Day album.

Seek a City Proclamation

We were inspired to see that in Norfolk, Virginia, home of Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, Mayor Kenneth Alexander issued a proclamation for Thank a Resident Day both in 2024 and 2025.

Contact your mayor’s office to see if it’s possible in your city. And do let us know!

10 Facts About Thank a Resident Day

  1. Thank a Resident Day was created in 2018 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation’s Gold Humanism Honor Society to thank resident physicians and fellows, unsung heroes of the healthcare system, for their humanistic care of patients.
  2. Thank a Resident Day is always held on the last Friday in February.
  3. The first Thank a Resident Day was held in 2018 with 31 sites participating.
  4. Last year, in 2025, nearly 900 residency sites around the United States celebrated Thank a Resident Day!
  5. Who are resident physicians and fellows? Physicians who have graduated from medical school and are now training under a senior attending physician.
  6. There are more than 167,000 resident physicians and fellows in the United States, according to ACGME.
  7. Residency and fellowship are a uniquely challenging time of medical training, as junior physicians take on greater responsibility caring for patients with compassion while still actively learning from their senior attending physicians and healthcare team. Long and unpredictable hours are common.
  8. The Gold Humanism Honor Society chose a day in February to celebrate because the winter month can be particularly tough and dreary.
  9. Celebrations are personalized by each site; activities or gifts might include handwritten thank you notes, recognition across a hospital, massage therapy, or special meals.
  10. At least one city officially recognizes the day. In Norfolk, Virginia, home of Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences at Old Dominion University, the mayor last year issued a proclamation for Thank a Resident Day.