Richard Spear, MD, Memorial Essay Contest 2026
“ Roots of Medical Hesitancy in Our Patients: How Can We Overcome the Challenge”
Physicians are uniquely positioned to witness the complex factors that fuel medical hesitancy among patients, from cultural beliefs and historical injustices to misinformation, systemic barriers and personal experiences with the health care system. This year we invite you to explore the roots of medical hesitancy you have encountered and to propose compassionate, evidence-informed strategies for rebuilding trust, writing about ways physicians can overcome these challenges.
The contest has two entry categories: practicing / retired physicians and in-training physicians / UofL medical students, with both groups writing on the same topic. The prize for each group will be $ 1,125. The winning essays will be announced at the annual Presidents’ Celebration in May and will be published in the July 2026 issue of Louisville Medicine.
Each entry will be considered on excellence in expression, creativity, readability and clarity by the all-volunteer judges. Each entry must be between 800-2,000 words. The essays are due on Sunday, March 1, 2026. All entries must be original, unpublished writing intended solely for publication in Louisville Medicine. Please remember HIPAA guidelines: include no information that could potentially identify real patients in any possible way – change the name, gender, age, ethnicity( anything and everything that could be recognizable) while still keeping the flavor of the original.
Send entries via email as Microsoft Word or Pages documents to Kathryn Vance at kathryn. vance @ glms. org. Please include your name, entry category, essay title and contact information( a separate cover sheet is not necessary, staff will remove all identifying information before sending your entry on to the judges). Please note that only current GLMS members are eligible.
We look forward to your essays!
GUIDELINES
THEMED ESSAY CONTEST: All entries must be original, unpublished writing intended solely for publishing in Louisville Medicine. Essays must be pertinent to the following theme:“ Roots of Medical Hesitancy in Our Patients: How Can We Overcome the Challenge”
LENGTH: 800 to 2,000 words DEADLINE: Sunday, March 1, 2026
PRIZE: $ 1,125 for practicing and retired; $ 1,125 for physicians intraining
FORMAT: Microsoft Word or Pages document. Please include your name, entry category, essay title and contact information( judges are blinded to authors).
SUBMISSION: Send via email to Kathryn Vance at kathryn. vance @ glms. org.
6 LOUISVILLE MEDICINE