June 7, 2007                                                    

Two at SIU Med School Receive 2007 Humanism Award

A faculty member and graduating senior from Southern Illinois University School of Medicine in Springfield have received the 2007 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Awards.  Dr. David S. Resch, associate professor of medicine and psychiatry and acting chair of medicine , and Dr. Emily R. Young , a 2007 graduate, were announced as recipients at the medical school’s graduation in May.  Awarded by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the national honor is given at many U.S. medical schools to a faculty member and graduating senior who demonstrate compassion, respect for patients and families, and clinical excellence.

Resch’s nominators said he has “extreme dedication to his work and his patients as well as to resident and student education.  Despite working tirelessly throughout the day, he continues to show empathy and diligence while evaluating new patients on the psychiatry consult service late into the evening.  Students are impressed by his teaching skills and his bedside manner.  He is always willing to take time to thoroughly answer any student questions and exemplifies the qualities and values that SIU tries to instill in its graduates.”

Resch joined SIU’s faculty in 1992.  He completed his residencies in internal medicine and psychiatry at SIU and University of Iowa (1990, 1992).  Resch earned his medical degree at SIU (1986) and his bachelor’s degree at Illinois Wesleyan University (1982).  He is board certified in internal medicine, psychiatry and neurology, with added qualifications in geriatric psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine.
Resch is chair of the board for SIU Physician & Surgeons as well as chief of SIU’s internal medicine-psychiatry division.  He also is medical director for the internal medicine-psychiatry unit at Memorial Medical Center.  His other honors include SIU’s 2007 Golden Apple Award for outstanding teaching and the Illinois Department on Aging mental health and aging champion.  He is a member of Alpha Omega Alpha medical honor society.

Young’s nominator said that she “has an unwavering commitment to humanistic concerns in the context of patient care and her role as a physician.  She consistently illustrates the finest professional behavior by personal example and has been recognized by her peers for outstanding achievement.”

After her first year in medical school, Young participated in a summer medical mission trip to Brazil and later traveled Honduras for two weeks with other health professionals representing the Christian Medical and Dental Association.  She volunteered for Habitat for Humanity in Springfield as well at a local free clinic in Carbondale.

Young will begin her residency in internal medicine and pediatrics at the University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Memphis in July.  She is the daughter of Melvin and Marilyn Young of Buckley.  She is a graduate of Cissna Park High School (1999) and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (2003).

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