Gold Humanism Scholars at the Harvard Macy Institute Program for Educators

Geographic Scope: US and Canada

Purpose: The Arnold P. Gold Foundation sponsors partial scholarships to support health profession educators working to develop and enhance educational projects focused on achieving humanistic patient care that can be replicated across a variety of healthcare delivery settings.

Award Amount: $5,000 per scholar (partial scholarship; tuition is $5,800, travel/lodging additional)

Number of Awards: Up to 8 Gold Humanism Scholars per year

Eligibility:

• Faculty from accredited schools of medicine, nursing, and other allied health professions in the US and Canada
• NOT open to trainees
• Must be recognized at home institution for commitment to mentorship of trainees in humanistic and professional practice
• Preference given to candidates who:
  • Have central role in physician and allied health professions education
  • Demonstrate commitment to fostering humanism, empathy, compassion, and highest standards of professionalism
  • Show promise/potential as leaders in health professions education

Focus Areas: The Gold Foundation is most interested in supporting health profession education projects that:

• Cultivate humanism, effective interpersonal and communication skills, and professionalism
• Are longitudinal, ideally encompassing more than one year of training
• Integrate specialties and disciplines within medicine and between healthcare professions
• Are required (vs. elective)
• Contribute to best practices in education of future caregivers with replication potential
• Include strong assessment component
• Provide evidence of institutional support

Reporting Requirements:

• Gold Scholars must submit interim and final reports to the Gold Foundation
• May be asked to present project to Board of Trustees and/or select Gold Foundation forums

Foundation Policy:

• No dean's tax, overhead, or indirect expenses may be subtracted from grant amount
• All monies used exclusively for scholarship
• Dr. Elizabeth Gaufberg (Director of Gold Foundation Research Institute, Gold Professor, and Harvard Macy Faculty member) serves as mentor to Gold Scholars

Application Requirements

Timeline Note: Gold Foundation notifies applicants approximately 2 weeks prior to Harvard Macy Institute's application deadline (Sept. 27) so non-selected applicants can still apply independently.

Required Materials:

1. Biosketch (1 page limit)
   • Full contact information
   • Academic affiliation and position
   • Educational and Professional Experience
   • Scholarly Interests
   • Personal Background and Interests
2. Personal Essay (1 page limit)
   • Discuss professional values and commitment to humanism in medicine
3. Proposal as Gold Humanism Scholar (2 pages limit)
   • Project title and two-sentence project description
   • Define the project: What are you trying to accomplish? What is the aim?
   • Describe current problem at home institution
   • Identify who will benefit from project
   • Predict/hypothesize what changes will result in improvement
   • Identify barriers to implementation and necessary resources
   • Explain how you will evaluate whether project created improvement
   • Describe strategy for disseminating project and outcomes to health professions education community
   • Briefly explain how participation in Harvard Macy Institute will benefit this project and professional development
4. Letter(s) of Support
   • From Departmental Chair
   • Attest to applicant's qualifications
   • Confirm commitment to humanism
   • Confirm institutional support of applicant's project
   • Statement that applicant can participate fully in course as scheduled

Submission Instructions:
Submit all materials by Harvard Macy Institute application deadline (September 27)