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Medicine Monday: Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award
Mar 15, 2021Dr. Arnold P. Gold believed that truly great doctors care just as much about their patients as they care for them. A world-renowned pediatric neurologist, Dr. Gold defined this compassionate medical philosophy as “humanism in healthcare” and led the movement to make it an essential part of medicine.
Today, Dr. Gold’s legacy lives on through the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award. The award, established in 1991 and presented by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, recognizes “graduating students and faculty members who demonstrate both clinical excellence and outstanding compassion in the delivery of care and who show respect for patients, their families, and healthcare colleagues.”
In 2003, The Tow Foundation helped create an endowed fund for the award and expand its reach to what is now over 100 medical schools in North America.
Recent winners include exemplary clinicians such as Dr. Elise Desperito, assistant professor of radiology at Columbia University, whose focus on mammograms, breast ultrasounds and breast MRIs means she is often responsible for delivering painful news directly to patients and families. In these difficult moments, her colleagues describe her as being “one hundred percent there for the patient.”