Davis selected for Hippocratic Award
Amid cheers and clapping, a visibly surprised and moved Dr. John Davis, recently accepted the 2000 College of Medicine Hippocratic Award for teaching excellence.
Beneath a sycamore tree spawned from one the father of medicine himself is said to have taught beneath, Davis hugged Jeff Hall, academic chair of the college’s senior class, who presented the award April 6. Davis’ wife, Susan, and two children, James, 6, and Emily, 3, attended the ceremony.
Each year since 1969, the graduating class has selected the faculty member who best represents the ideals of Hippocrates in compassionate patient care and inspirational teaching.
Davis, an assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology and director of the division of Gynecology, is an excellent teacher and a wonderful clinician, Hall said.
“He has a wonderful sense of humor, and he keeps us laughing at times when we’re thinking of being a little glum. He’s also a great friend who listens to us and listens to our concerns,” Hall said. “He calls us all young scholars and young doctors, and he’s inspiring us to be what we hope to become.”
The senior class had previously selected Davis as its class adviser.
This year’s graduating class started a new tradition, calling on Dr. Michael Okun, chief neurology resident and the founder and director of the UF Society for the History of Medicine, to talk about the historical relevance of the award.
Okun recounted the eight attributes doctors must possess to meet the Hippocratic ideal. They are: honesty; a rational approach; observation; extrapolation; prevention; treatment; a large and unselfish investment in teaching; and an understanding that it’s impossible to cure all patients.
“The modern day admission criteria to Hippocrates’ club is really unchanged from the fifth century, B.C.,” said Okun, a UF graduate. “This century and in all centuries since his time, it is the most difficult, the most competitive and the most prestigious club in medicine.”
After listening to the Hippocratic attributes, Davis said, “I think you’ve raised my personal standard to a higher level.”
“This is a tremendous honor coming from a class of this quality, and it’s also an honor to be selected from among the tremendous faculty we have,” said Davis, who did his residency at UF and has been a faculty member since 1994.
Dr. Robert Watson, senior associate dean for educational affairs and a past Hippocratic Award winner, said the award has become the college’s highest honor. A member of the class that started the Hippocratic Award, Watson recalled when the 3-foot sycamore sapling was presented as a gift to UF by an ambassador from Greece. The sapling was taken from a tree on the island of Kos, under which Hippocrates was said to have taught students of medicine. It now grows not far from the main entrance to Shands at UF, shading two large boulders bearing plaques listing the names of the Hippocratic Award winners.