Please Congratulate The Top Ten Inaugural Class

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 over 200 new registrations and 51 successful nominations.  As of this morning we have identified the top 10 candidates for this year’s honorarium:

• Brandon Faza, MBA, emergency medicine resident at University of South Florida, Tampa
• Sonya Kenkare, dermatology resident at the University of Chicago
• Meera Kotagal, surgical resident at the University of Washington, Seattle
• John Purakal, emergency medicine resident at the University of Illinois, Chicago
• Gwendolyn Reyes, pediatric resident at Michigan State University
• Russell Russo, orthopedic surgery resident at Louisiana State University
• Niket Sonpal, internal medicine resident at Lenox Hill Hospital
• David Stoddard, otolaryngology resident at Mayo Clinic
• Daniel Thorngren, internal medicine-pediatrics resident at University of Miami
• Kanani Titchen, pediatrics resident at Jefferson Medical College

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 April 25, our panel of judges will determine who receives an honorarium that instantly reduces his or her debt burden by $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.