"Be worthy to serve the suffering."

-William W. Root, MD - Founder, 1902

Robert H. Moser Essay Award

To honor the late Robert H. Moser, MD (AΩA, Georgetown University, 1969). Awarded to one outstanding essay celebrating the life of a physician like Dr. Moser who has enriched the world through his/her career in medicine.

Important Dates

Deadline for submission

October 24, 2023

Award announcements

December 15, 2023

2023 Robert H. Moser Essay Award

The 2023 AΩA Robert H. Moser Essay Award winner is: “Brick by Brick: The Advocacy Journey of Dr. Lilia Cervantes” by Juan Lessing, MD (AΩA, University of Colorado School of Medicine, 2019, Faculty).  Dr. Lessing’s article will be published in the Spring 2024 issue of The Pharos.

Background

Dr. Moser organized and worked in one of the first MASH units during the Korean War. He was a pioneering flight controller for NASA during the Project Mercury and Project Apollo space programs, served as Chief of Medicine at Tripler Army Medical Center in Hawaii, and treated patients at the Kalaupapa Leper Colony in Molokai. He was Chief of Medicine at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, editor of JAMA, Executive Vice President of the American College of Physicians and a member of The Pharos Editorial Board.

The Award

One award of $4,500 for an essay highlighting the life of a physician who has enriched the world of medicine. The winning essay will be published in The Pharos. The winning author must submit a W-9 form prior to issuance of the award check.

Eligibility

All physicians. AΩA membership is not required, however, AΩA members who submit an essay must have active dues status. Physicians on the AΩA Board of Directors or The Pharos Editorial Board are not eligible.

Requirements for the Essay

  1. Essay must be an original work, and must not have been offered to, or published by, any other journal or entered in any other contest.
  2. The essay must be biographical, and either sketch out the life, or a particular highlight of the physician’s career. The physician written about may be of any nation, and from any time, including someone living or dead. Essays may not be autobiographical.
  3. The essay must not exceed 15 double-spaced pages of 12-point type with minimum 1-inch margins, exclusive of reference listing. All pages must be numbered.
  4. Unique references, numbered consecutively, are limited to 20. Reference citations of websites are not acceptable unless a site is the sole source of the information or has official academic credentials. Examples of acceptable sites are official government web pages such as that of the National Institutes of Health.
  5. A committee of The Pharos Editorial Board will review the essays and select the winner on the basis of originality, scholarship, style and composition, and relevance.

Requirements for winning essay

When notified of winning the award, the author must provide photo copy documentation of references as follows: title pages of all books cited; the first and last pages of book chapters cited; the table of contents of the particular issue of the journal in which a cited article appeared; copy of pages showing source of all quotations from the primary sources, including page numbers.

Essays not receiving the award

Essays may be revised and submitted for standard review for publication in The Pharos.

Questions may be directed to

Contact Libby Appel at (720) 859-4149 or moser@alphaomegaalpha.org

Past Recipients

The 2022 Robert H. Moser Essay Award recipient is:“From Australasia to Addis Ababa: the one-way journey with love. Reflecting on the lives of Reginald Hamlin and Catherine Nicholson Hamlin” by Tony Bazi, MD

2021 winner “The Toughness of a Trailblazer: Daniel Hale Williams, MD,” by Gregory W. Schneider, MD (AΩA, University of Missouri Columbia College of Medicine, 1995). Dr. Schneider’s article will be published in the Spring 2022 issue of The Pharos.

No award given in 2020

2019 winner “A Giant Upon Whose Shoulders Thousands Stand: The Life and Times of Dr. James W. Reed,” by Cinnamon Bradley, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine and Program Director of the Medicine Residency Program at Morehouse School of Medicine. Dr. Bradley’s article will be published in the Spring 2020 issue of The Pharos.

2018 winner “Carlos Montezuma, MD; A Yavapai American Hero,” by Leon Speroff, MD, Professor Emeritus, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon. Dr. Speroff’s article was published in the Spring 2019 issue of The Pharos.

Alpha Omega Alpha is committed to upholding a high standard of professionalism, compassion and humanism in medicine. Patients should be treated with dignity and their privacy respected. We will not accept submissions to any of our programs that conflict with these values, or contain bigotry, or highly politicized content.

Search