Press Release
"Pens and Scalpels: Writing the Life in Medicine:A. Scott Pearson, MD, Associate Professor of Surgery, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Institutional Core Curriculum Grand Rounds
Special Session Sponsored by the UTCOM Gold Humanism Honor Society Chapter
Tuesday, February 9, 2010 Noon - 1 PM Webcast from Probasco Auditorium at Erlanger Health System
The UT College of Medicine Gold Humanism Honor Society sponsored a special Institutional Core Curriculum Grand Rounds on Tuesday, Feburary 9, 2010 at Noon in Probasco Auditorium in the Erlanger Medical Mall. The unique and thoughtful topic is: "Pens and Scalpels: Writing the Life in Medicine." GHHS Member and President of the upcoming graduating UT Class of 2010, Brian Bogdanowicz, introduced the speaker, A. Scott Pearson, MD, and gave an excellent overview of the mission and purpose of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. Dr. Pearson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Surgery at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Scott Pearson grew up in a farming community in West Tennessee. After graduating from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, he completed medical school at the University of Tennessee, Memphis. Dr. Pearson then completed eight years of surgical training in Texas: residency in general surgery at Parkland Hospital in Dallas and surgical oncology fellowship at M. D. Anderson in Houston. For the past decade, Dr. Pearson has been a member of the surgical faculty at Vanderbilt University, where he combines cancer research with the clinical practice of surgery. After faculty fellowship at Vanderbilt's Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities, Pearson currently teaches an undergraduate seminar on the importance of the patient's narrative in medicine. A member of the American College of Surgeons, the American Association of Cancer Research, and the Association of Academic Surgery, Pearson has published in numerous scientific journals. He lives with his family in Nashville, Tennessee and is the author of the novel, RUPTURE.
The UTCOM Chapter was established last year through a special grant from the national Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The first induction ceremony for the UT campuses was held here in Chattanooga on April 17, 2009. The second induction ceremony is being scheduled for April 9, 2010, also here in Chattanooga. The "Top 10% of the Rising M-4 Classes" are peer nominated through an online survey of the M-3 Class between January and March each year.
Nationally, the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) was established in 2002 and is an international association of individuals and medical school chapters whose members are selected as exemplars of empathy, compassion, altruism, integrity, and service in their relationships with patients and others in the field of medicine. The University of Tennessee Gold Humanism Honor Society Chapter was approved in March 2009 and the first inductees were named in April 2009. This was made possible by an initial grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.
The GHHS is dedicated to foster, recognize, and support the values of humanism and professionalism in medicine. The Society commits itself to work within and beyond medical education to inspire, nurture, and sustain lifelong advocates and activists for compassionate patient care.
GHHS members pledge to
1. Be a role model and mentor for humanism in medicine.
2. Champion the proper balance between scientific and humanistic patient care.
3. Inspire colleagues to promote humanism throughout the healthcare system.
4. Advocate humanistic patient care locally, regionally, and nationally.
5. Nurture fellowship in membership.
6. Help those struggling to overcome the barriers to humanism in medicine.
7. Be a force for improving healthcare for everyone.
Leadership for the UT College of Medicine GHHS Chapter include:
Chapter Leader: Mukta Panda, MD, FACP, Professor and Chair, Department of Medicine and Transitional Year Program Director, UT College of Medicine Chattanooga
Chapter Co-Advisor: Robert Fore, EdD, FACME, CCMEP, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and DIO
Chapter Liaison: Pamela D. Scott Scott, Director for Graduate and Medical Student Education.
