Please Congratulate The Top 10 Finalists For 2015

Young physicians entering residency programs after graduating from medical school plan to endure nearly a decade of additional schooling to achieve professional goals and therefore face unthinkable debt burdens.

When we set out to find individuals who not only decided to begin a medical career despite this uncertainty, but have gone above and beyond to humanize medicine and restore trust and respect to the field, we never expected to receive so many inspiring stories worthy of an honorarium like this.

We received hundreds of registrations and submissions and as of this morning we have identified the top 10 candidates for this year’s honorarium:

Maryam Afshar, dermatology resident at UC San Diego
Jonathan Santoro, pediatric neurology resident at Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford University
Meghan Berkenstock,ophthalmology resident at Drexel University
Maddy Artunduaga, radiology resident at Baylor College of Medicine
Noah Rosenberg, family medicine resident at UMASS Worcester
Jerry Abraham, family medicine resident at USC California Hospital Medical Center
Aaron Laviana, urology resident at UCLA
Misty Richards, psychiatric resident at UCLA
Robert Rice, cardiothoracic surgery resident at University of Texas
Peter Cooch, pediatrics resident at UC San Francisco

All of these remarkable individuals inspire future leaders to enter the field through their sacrifice and devotion to their careers and the patients they serve.  On May 12, our panel of judges will determine who receives an honorarium that instantly awards them $25,000, allowing this physician to jump-start a career that matches his or her passion, personality and professionalism.

Please join us in congratulating and thanking these candidates and all of the semi-finalist entries for their hard work and perseverance. Stay tuned for more updates as we get closer to the final honorarium announcement.