Pitt Researchers’ Article Wins ABIM Foundation Prize

An article by two University of Pittsburgh researchers was among the winners of the ABIM Foundation’s 2024 John A. Benson Jr., MD Professionalism Article Prize, the foundation announced on Jan. 27.

The article, “Navigating Clinicians’ Conscience-Based Refusals to Provide Lawful Medical Care,” was published in the New England Journal of Medicine in October 2024. It is by Douglas B. White (above), Professor for Ethics in Critical Care Medicine and vice chair of faculty development and professor, Department of Critical Care Medicine, and director, Program on Ethics and Decision Making in Critical Illness, and Mark Wicclair, adjunct professor of medicine, School of Medicine. The article looks at the ethical challenges that come up when doctors refuse to provide certain medical services.

The articles selected 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, 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.”

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. For more than two decades, Benson taught medical students and fostered interprofessional 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 Jan. 1, 2024, and Oct. 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.

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.