Class Day honors 26
Twenty-six graduating medical students received honors at the annual Class Day for the School of Medicine, held Thursday, May 8, in Langford Auditorium.
One graduate, Veronica Gabrielle Lawson Gunn, was honored with four awards. Three graduates were honored with two awards each; Michael Craig Thigpen, Christopher John Sonnenday and Mary Joan Gootjes.
The School of Medicine Award of Distinction was given to Robert Alden Milam IV, of Chapin, S.C., and Michael Craig Thigpen of Gallatin, for demonstrating outstanding qualities of leadership and humanitarian service.
The Dean's Award went to Veronica Gabrielle Lawson Gunn, of Nashville, and Christopher John Sonnenday, of McLean, Va. The Dean's Award honors the medical student or students distinguished by outstanding contributions of leadership and service.
Sara Jane Fletcher Patterson, of Kalamazoo, Mich., was presented The Kaufman Prize in Medicine, an award honoring 1939 graduate J. Kenneth Kaufman, and given to a graduating medical student who has demonstrated qualities of humaneness, dedication and unselfish service in the study of medicine.
The David R. Freedy Memorial Award was given to Jo Ann Cook, of Brentwood. The award was established to honor the memory of Freedy, a member of the Class of 1993 who died of cancer. It is given to the student who has demonstrated qualities of leadership, exceptional courage and perseverance in the face of adversity and has been dedicated to improving and promoting community life.
Four students received the Janet M. Glasgow Memorial Achievement Citation, presented in recognition of the accomplishments of women medical students who graduate as honor graduates. It serves to reaffirm the American Medical Women's Association's commitment to encouraging continuing achievement.
The recipients were Karen Ross Demers Bonar, of Jacksonville, Fla., Michelle Terry Bass Goldin, of Glencoe, Ill., Heidi Lee Meinz, of Naperville, Ill., and Carolynn Marie Young, of Arlington, Texas.
Graduating medical students Mary Joan Gootjes, of Grand Rapids, Mich., and Konstantin Walmsley, of New York, received the John L. Shapiro Award for Excellence in Pathology, which recognizes outstanding student performance in pathology. The award honors the memory of Dr. John L. Shapiro, who was chairman of the department of Pathology from 1956 to 1971.
The Amos Christie Award, which recognizes the graduating student who demonstrates the outstanding qualities of scholarship and humanity embodied in the ideal pediatrician, was given to Gunn. The award is in memory of Dr. Amos Christie, who was chairman of the department of Pediatrics from 1943 to 1968.
The Roentgen Award, given to a graduating medical student who has made important contributions in one of the radiological sciences during four years of study, was awarded to Edward Wrenn Wooten, of Little Rock, Ark. Named for Wilhelm Roentgen, a pioneer in diagnostic radiology, the award recognizes discoveries in either clinical or research areas.
Gunn also received the Canby Robinson Society Award. This award is presented to a member of the graduating class (nominated by the fourth-year class) who possesses those intangible qualities of common sense, knowledge, thoughtfulness, personal warmth, gentleness and confidence which combine to make the "Ideal Doctor"… the person fellow classmates would most like to have as their personal physician.
The Hospital Award of Excellence, which recognizes the fourth-year medical student who has contributed the most toward excellent patient care by demonstrating sensitivity, compassion and concern in clinical responsibilities to patients, was given to Gurpreet Kaur Thind, of Louisville, Ken. This award is voted on by the chief residents of all the services.
The Award for Excellence in Emergency Medicine, given on behalf of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine, was presented to Marya Lee Cross, of Louisville, Ken. The award recognizes a medical student for outstanding clinical performance in the Emergency Department at VUMC.
Elisabeth Fowlie Mock, of North Lovell, Maine, received the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians Award, which is given in recognition of dedication to the high ideals of family practice.
Three students were honored with The Albert Weinstein Prize in Medicine, given to the fourth-year student who has demonstrated high scholastic attainment and qualities which characterize the fine physician. The award was shared by Joseph Valentino Agostini Jr., of Stafford Springs, Conn., Darren Andrew DeWalt, of Bakersfield, Calif., and Patrick Earl Young, of Arlington, Texas.
The Rudolph H. Kampmeier Prize in Medicine was awarded to Ian Crozier, of Clarion, Iowa. The award is presented by the department of Medicine to the student who is judged by the faculty to have exhibited the qualities of the excellent physician as exemplified by Kampmeier throughout his career.
Stephen Fulvio Stanziale, of Colts Neck, N.J., received the Surgical Clerkship Award, which is presented by the Section of Surgical Sciences to a student who has shown superior performance in the third-year surgical clerkship and who plans to enter graduate education in surgery.
The H. William Scott Jr. Prize in Surgery was given to Sonnenday. This award is presented to the student who exemplifies the qualities of leadership, performance and character reflecting the ideal surgeon.
The Beauchamp Scholarship, which is endowed and awarded to the student showing the greatest progress in the field of psychiatry, was given to Gail Lynn Addlestone, of Nashville.
Three graduating students, Gunn, Joel Dworkin, of Montreal, Canada, and Jed Abraham Gorden, of Bethesda, Ma., received The Merck Award for Excellence in Infectious Diseases, which is presented annually by the divisions of Infectious Diseases in the departments of Medicine and Pediatrics to the students who have demonstrated outstanding aptitude and performance in clinical and investigative efforts in infectious diseases or microbiology.
The Orthopaedic Surgery Clerkship Award was presented to Walter Grear Hurt, of Atlanta. The award is given by the department of Orthopaedic Surgery to the student who has excelled in both the third- and fourth-year orthopaedic clerkships and who has demonstrated outstanding potential in the field of orthopaedic surgery.
The Tom Nesbitt Award is presented by the Nashville Academy of Medicine and Davidson County Medical Society in recognition of the service and contribution of Dr. Tom Nesbitt, a member and 133rd president of the American Medical Association. Nesbitt is an assistant clinical professor of Urology. The award is given to the graduating medical student who demonstrates leadership and an active interest in the socio-economic aspect of medicine. The recipient this year was Michael Craig Thigpen, of Gallatin.
The Lonnie S. Burnett Award in Obstetrics and Gynecology was awarded to Mary Joan Gootjes, of Grand Rapids, Mich. The award is given to the student demonstrating superior performance and who exemplifies the qualities of dedication, leadership, compassion and integrity in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.
And Mark Douglas Fox, of Tulsa, Okla., was presented the Dixon N. Burns Award in Medical Ethics. This award is given by the Center for Clinical and Research Ethics to the graduating medical student who has, through a written essay, demonstrated unusual ability in identifying and analyzing ethical issues presented in either clinical or research contexts.