Advancing Medical Professionalism: Articles Addressing Ethical Dilemmas and Systemic Challenges Honored

Three articles selected as winners of the ABIM Foundation’s 15th Annual John A. Benson Jr., MD Professionalism Article Prize 

Winners of the ABIM Foundation’s 2024 John A. Benson Jr., MD Professionalism Article Prize address some of modern medicine’s most pressing challenges—from ethical dilemmas to the administrative burdens faced by health care professionals. 

“For many, medical professionalism represents the heart and soul of medicine, and the work of these authors deepens our understanding of what it means to be a medical professional in today’s evolving health care landscape,” said Jessica Perlo, MPH, Executive Vice President of the ABIM Foundation. “Recognizing and uplifting those who explore, advance, and even challenge the principles of medical professionalism, is just one piece of the puzzle necessary to build trust and drive meaningful progress across the health care system.” 

The winning articles include:  

• Navigating Clinicians’ Conscience-Based Refusals to Provide Lawful Medical Care, Douglas B. White, MD, MAS; Mark Wicclair, PhD. The New England Journal of Medicine (October 2024). 

• On Calling — From Privileged Professionals to Cogs of Capitalism? Lisa Rosenbaum, MD. The New England Journal of Medicine (January 2024).  

• Identifying and Measuring Administrative Harms Experienced by Hospitalists and Administrative Leaders, Marisha Burden, MD, MBA; Gopi Astik, MD, MS; Andrew Auerbach, MD; Greg Bowling, MD; Kirsten N. Kangelaris, MD; Angela Keniston, PhD, MSPH; Aveena Kochar, MD; Luci K. Leykum, MD, MBA, MSc; Anne S. Linker, MD; Matthew Sakumoto, MD; Kendall Rogers, MD; Natalie Schwatka, PhD; Sara Westergaard, MD, MPH. JAMA Internal Medicine (June 2024). 

About the Award 

Created in 2011 to celebrate and encourage outstanding contributions to the literature on medical professionalism, the article prize was renamed in 2015 in honor of American Board of Internal Medicine and ABIM Foundation President Emeritus John A. Benson Jr., MD. For more than two decades, Dr. Benson taught medical students and fostered inter-professional education at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, and at Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine, where he also served at the Center for Ethics in Health Care. He has received several honors for his work in medical education and clinical medicine and has written extensively about professionalism. 

Articles published in English language, peer-reviewed journals between January 1, 2024, and October 31, 2024 (online or in print), were eligible for the prize. A committee of health care leaders selected winners based on clarity of writing, thoroughness, methodology, and contributions to the field and society.  

Members of the selection committee included: 

• Mercy Adetoye, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Michigan Health  

• John A. Benson Jr., MD, President Emeritus, American Board of Internal Medicine and ABIM Foundation  

• Richard Frankel, PhD, Professor of Medicine and Geriatrics, Indiana University School of Medicine  

• Hayley Goldbach, MD, Assistant Professor of Dermatology, Clinician Educator, Brown Dermatology  

• Heather L. Heiman, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine and Medical Education, University of Illinois College of Medicine  

• Jessica Perlo, MPH, Executive Vice President, ABIM Foundation 

• David Scales, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Weill Cornell Medicine, Division of Hospital Medicine  

• Irving Washington, FASCE, CAE, Senior Vice President and Executive Director, Health Misinformation and Trust Initiative at KFF 

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About the ABIM Foundation  

The ABIM Foundation’s mission is to advance medical professionalism to improve the health care system by collaborating with physicians and physician leaders, medical trainees, health care delivery systems, payers, policymakers, consumer organizations and patients to foster a shared understanding of professionalism and how they can adopt the tenets of professionalism in practice. To learn more about the ABIM Foundation, visit www.abimfoundation.org and connect on LinkedIn.  

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