May 5, 2017
Texas
medical students recognized Houston emergency physician Cedric Dark, MD, today
with the 2017 C. Frank Webber, MD, Award, for his commitment to mentoring
medical students. The Texas Medical Association Medical Student Section (TMA-MSS) presented the award to Dr. Dark during TexMed,
TMA’s annual conference, in Houston.
“I am honored to be selected by the medical students for
this award,” said Dr. Dark. “I have spent the past 10 years trying to bridge
the gap between health policy and medicine, and to engage students on issues
that will resonate throughout their professional careers.”
Dr. Dark is an
assistant professor of emergency medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. He is board
certified by the American Board of Emergency Medicine and a fellow of the
American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP).
Matthew
Stampfl, the Baylor medical student who nominated Dr. Dark for the award, said
his wide-ranging efforts to educate, enable, and equip medical students deserve
recognition. “He exemplifies large-scale student engagement, in addition to
individual student mentoring,” he said.
Dr. Dark introduces
students to organized medicine through his Business of Medicine elective, jointly
offered at Baylor and the McGovern Medical School at The University of Texas
Health Science Center at Houston. “For many students taking that class,
including myself, we heard about organized medicine for the first time and were
inspired to join TMA,” said Mr. Stampfl.
Dr. Dark also
nurtures students’ interest in advocacy through his Health Policy Journal Club
and helps TMA-MSS students get published in peer-reviewed journals.
“While I know the students currently involved with the Texas
Medical Association will practice medicine on a grand scale,” said Dr. Dark,
“my hope is that they will become the next generation of physician-statesmen,
healing patients and fixing our broken healthcare system.”
He cited a
famous German physician known for his advancement of public health to further
describe his own aspirations for his students. “[I want] to inspire them to
live up to Rudolf Virchow’s famous statement: ‘Medicine is a social science,
and politics is nothing else but medicine on a large scale.’ ”
A TMA member
since 2014, Dr. Dark currently sits on the Harris County Medical Society’s
Emergency Care Committee.
Dr. Dark
received his bachelor of science degree from Morehouse College in Atlanta and a
master of public health from Columbia University in New York. He earned his
medical degree at New York University. Dr. Dark completed an internship at
Washington Hospital Center and his residency at George Washington University,
both in Washington, DC.
Created in
1987, the C. Frank Webber, MD, Award is named after the late Texas family
physician and educator C. Frank Webber, MD, former dean of The University of
Texas Medical School at Houston. Dr. Webber’s efforts prompted the development
of the strong student organization within TMA.
TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation,
representing more than 50,000 physician and medical student members. It is
located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the
state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.
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Contact: Brent Annear (512) 370-1381; cell: (512) 656-7320; email: brent.annear[at]texmed[dot]org
Marcus Cooper (512)
370-1382; cell: (512) 650-5336; email: marcus.cooper[at]texmed[dot]org
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