Med Student Fellowships & Other Awards
Osler Medal

Sponsoring Agency: American Association for the History of Medicine

Description:The William Osier Medal is awarded annually for the best unpublished essay on a medical historical topic written by a student enrolled in a school of medicine or osteopathy in the United States or Canada. First awarded in 1942, the medal commemorates Sir William Osier, who stimulated an interest in the humanities among medical students and physicians. The writer of the winning essay will be invited to attend the 2004 AAHM meeting 29 April-2 May inMadison, WI, where the medal will be conferred. Reasonable travel expenses will be provided, as will a two-year complimentary membership in the AAHM. If the Osier Medal Committee also selects an essay for honorable mention, its author will receive a two-year complimentary membership in the Association.

All students who are candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy, or are graduates of the current year graduating class, are eligible. The essay must have been written while the entrant was a student in good standing. Students who have the Ph.D. or are A.B.D. (all but dissertation) in history. or related fields are not eligible for the Osier Award. Students in M.D./Ph.D. programs in history or related fields are not eligible for the Osier Award but are eligible for the Shryock Award.

Essays may pertain to the historical development of a contemporary medical problem, or to a topic within the health sciences related to a discrete period of the past, and should demonstrate either original research or an unusual appreciation and understanding of the problems discussed. The essay (maximum 10,000 words, including endnotes) must be entirely the work of one contestant.

Complete contest information may be viewed on the AAHM website www.histmed.org/Awards or obtained from the Osier Medal Committee chair: