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American Association for the History of Medicine

Osler Medal Essay Contest, 2002. The William Osler Medal is awarded annually for the best unpublished essay on a medico-historical topic written by a student enrolled in a school of medicine or of osteopathy in the United States or Canada. All students who are candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine or Doctor of Osteopathy or are graduates of the class of 2001 are eligible. The essay must have been written while the entrant was a student in good standing. Students who are currently enrolled, or have been enrolled, in graduate studies in history, the humanities, or the social sciences are not eligible for the competition. Such persons may be eligible for the Richard Shryock Medal of the AAHM.

This medal, first awarded in 1942, commemorates Sir William Osler, who stimulated an interest in the humanities among medical students and physicians. The writer of the winning essay will be invited to attend the 2002 meeting of the Association, to be held from 25-28 April 2002, in Kansas City, Missouri, where the medal will be conferred. Reasonable travel expenses will be defrayed. Essays may pertain either 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 must be entirely the work of one contestant, and of a maximum length of ten thousand words (including endnotes).

The required contest submission form (for substantiation of student status) and rules must be obtained from the Osler Medal Committee chair: Vanessa Northington Gamble, M.D., Ph.D., Association of American Medical Colleges, 2450 N Street, NW, Washington, DC 20037. Entries must be postmarked no later than 1 February 2002.

Shryock Medal Essay Contest, 2002. Graduate students in the United States and Canada are invited to enter the Shryock Medal Essay Contest. The medal honors Richard Harrison Shryock (1893-1972), a pioneer among historians interested in the history of medicine. The award is given for an outstanding, unpublished essay on any topic in the history of medicine. The essay must be the result of original research or show an unusual appreciation and understanding of problems in the history of medicine. The winner will be invited to attend the 2002 meeting of the Association from 25-28 April 2002 in Kansas City, Missouri, where the medal will be conferred. Reasonable travel expenses for the winner will be defrayed. Students must be enrolled in a graduate program other than medical school at the time of submission (those students currently eligible for the Association's Osler Medal competition for medical students are not eligible for the Shryock Medal).

Interested students must obtain guidelines and an application form from the Shryock Medal Committee chair: Dr. Susan L. Smith, History Department, University of Alberta, 2-28 Tory Bldg., Edmonton, AB Canada T6G 2H4 (e-mail: Susan.L.Smith@ualberta.ca). Please be sure to include your mailing address.

Please obtain these materials early. Essays must be postmarked no later than 1 February 2002.

Pressman-Burroughs Wellcome Award, 2002. This award honors Jack D. Pressman, M.D., Ph.D., a distinguished historian who was Associate Professor of History of Health Sciences at the University of California, San Francisco, at his early and unexpected death in June 1997. The award is given in even-numbered years for outstanding work in twentieth-century history of medicine or medical sciences, as demonstrated by the completion of a Ph.D. and a proposal to turn the dissertation into a publishable monograph.

The Ph.D. must have been completed and the degree granted within the last three years (i.e., 1998-2001). The application must include a one-page summary of the proposed book; an account (not exceeding two pages) of the work required to make the dissertation publishable, and why; information on interest in publishing it from a specific press...