The 2022 contest is now closed and essays are under review. For details, visit Eligibility, Selection Criteria, and Process.
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is excited to announce the opening of the 2022 Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest for medical and nursing students. The annual contest prompts students to partake in inspired reflection through a writing exercise that illustrates an experience where they or a team member worked to ensure that humanism was at the core of care. Submissions that touch upon students’ personal experiences of humanistic care or stories of family and friends will also be accepted.
First-, second-, and third-place nursing and medical student essays will be published in Academic Medicine, the journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and The Journal of Professional Nursing, of the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN). Winners will receive a monetary award of up to $1,000. The deadline is March 14, and students should submit their essays here.
This year’s essay prompt is a quote by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy from his book Together: The Healing Power of Human Connection in a Sometimes Lonely World:
“Creating a connected life begins with the decisions we make in our day-to-day lives. Do we choose to make time for people? Do we show up as our true selves? Do we seek out others with kindness, recognizing the power of service to bring us together?”
Dr. Murthy has been a champion of humanism throughout his distinguished career. He was awarded the National Humanism in Medicine Medal in 2016 and the Vilcek-Gold Award for Humanism in Healthcare in 2020. He is also a Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) member.
“Every year, the narratives submitted by nurses and physicians in training to the Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest exemplify the heart of humanism in healthcare,” said Elizabeth Cleek, PsyD, Chief Operating Officer of the Gold Foundation. “We look forward to reading this year’s submissions and sharing their messages, inspired by Dr. Murthy’s words, with the Gold community.”
The annual essay contest is named in the honor of Hope Babette Tang-Goodwin, MD, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, whose devotion and generosity to the care of the children and infants with HIV infection in New York City was an inspiration to her colleagues and her students. Her approach to medicine combined a limitless enthusiasm for her work, intellectual rigor and deep compassion for her patients. Dr. Tang-Goodwin was an exemplar of scientifically excellent, compassionate, collaborative, and respectful patient care.
The essay contest is open to medical students at AAMC and American Association of Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine (AACOM) member schools and nursing students at AACN member schools, as well as international medical schools with a GHHS chapter.
All essays should be 1,000 words or fewer. First-, second-, and third-place essays for both nursing and medical students will be chosen by a panel that includes healthcare professionals, writers/journalists, and educators.
Learn more about the Hope Babette Tang Humanism in Healthcare Essay Contest
