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Contact: Media Relations Officer
AAMC Press Room
Oct. 28-31, 2000, Hyatt Regency Chicago
312-565-4270, Skyway 261

Embargoed for Release
7:00 p.m., EST, Oct. 28, 2000

UCLA'S Richard Usatine, M.D., Receives AAMC Humanism in Medical Education Award
Award is sponsored by Pfizer, Inc., and Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative

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Washington, D.C., October 28, 2000 -- The University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine's (UCLA) Richard P. Usatine, M.D., is the winner of the second annual Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Humanism in Medical Education award, sponsored by Pfizer, Inc., and the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative. The award honors a medical school faculty physician who is a caring and compassionate mentor for medical students, practices patient-centered care, and teaches ethics, empathy, and service by example.

Dr. Usatine, assistant dean of student affairs and associate clinical professor of family medicine, is recognized for bringing quality health care to underserved communities. "To make a difference in people's lives is something I derive great pleasure from," said Dr. Usatine. "Helping students feel the joy and the pleasure of giving to others is what makes me feel good about my career."

Dr. Usatine's commitment to serving the community began two decades ago during his medical residency, when he worked part-time at several community clinics in the Los Angeles area. Today, he is medical director of the Union Rescue Mission, which has provided nurse-practitioner care for the homeless for more than 15 years. On-call for all questions in connection with the mission, Dr. Usatine gives patients the dignity of being treated with respect and kindness.

Dr. Usatine founded the DOC-STAT (Doctors Ought to Care-Students Teaching AIDS to Students) program at UCLA in the 1990s. The program allows medical students to become involved in local schools, where they inform students about serious health issues such as AIDS, and the harmful effects of smoking.

Committed to teaching and mentoring student physicians, Dr. Usatine guides them to the experience of providing care to the underprivileged, and helps them cultivate compassion toward those who are less fortunate. Dr. Usatine's involvement with clinics, educational programs, and mentoring curricula has provided him with the means to accomplish his ultimate goal-finding a way to train humane physicians, and having them, in turn, pass on their knowledge to a new generation of doctors.

The Humanism in Medical Education award winner is chosen based on a number of criteria, including, the faculty physician's professional skills, personal attributes, and professional and academic activities. Seven qualities have been identified as defining characteristics of humanism in medical education. They are:

· positive mentoring skills;
· compassion;
· collaboration;
· tolerance;
· sensitivity;
· active in community service; and,
· observes ethics of the profession.

In 1999, the University of New Mexico Hospital's Andrew Hsi, M.D., M.P.H., was the first-ever winner of the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) Humanism in Medical Education award. For more information on this award, contact the AAMC's Office of Communications, (202) 828-0041, or visit the Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative Website at www.positiveprofiles.com.

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The Association of American Medical Colleges represents the 125 accredited U.S. medical schools; the 16 accredited Canadian medical schools; some 400 major teaching hospitals, including 74 Veterans Administration medical centers; 91 academic and professional societies representing nearly 88,000 faculty members; and the nation's 67,000 medical students and 102,000 residents.

Additional information about the AAMC and U.S. medical schools and teaching hospitals available at www.aamc.org/newsroom