The Arnold P. Gold Foundation awarded the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine award to Dr. Matthew H. Rusk, an associate professor of clinical medicine and program director of the department of medicine’s Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the recipient of several awards for his outstanding teaching and was designated a “Top Doc” by Philadelphia magazine in 2011.

The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine award is given to a faculty member who illustrates professional behavior by example, displays cultural sensitivity in working with patients and family members of diverse ethnic or religious backgrounds, and demonstrates the highest standards of compassion and empathy in the delivery of care to patients.

As the director of the Primary Care Internal Medicine Residency, Dr. Rusk has developed a new curriculum in community outreach, patient-physician communication and patient-centered care. He mentors eight interns a year and is constantly available to students and trainees all day, every day.

A resident commented, “I came to Penn not sure of what type of career I wanted in medicine. Without Dr. Rusk’s constant and unwavering support, I am not sure I would have found my way. I can only hope to become half the clinician, teacher and mentor for others that he has been for me.”

Another resident wrote, “Dr. Rusk remains one of my true heroes in medical practice. He is an exemplary primary care physician—brilliant, kind and committed to his patients. Dr. Rusk is a deeply humanistic physician whose sensitivity and compassion are unparalleled in my experience.”

A third resident added, “I came to view Dr. Rusk as a dedicated role model and mentor for his residents, an enthusiastic teacher for each trainee who crossed paths with him, a supremely gifted clinician both in the hospital and in the clinic, and a compassionate caregiver to his patients.”