Previous Submissions

2011 Winner (94Kb PDF)
"Teaching Medical Ethics to Meet the Realities of an Imperfect Medical System" by Michael Millstone

2010 Winner (82Kb PDF) "Professional Ethics and Human Rights vs. Social Responsibility: Determining
Whether Physicians Should Provide Medical Care to Illegal Immigrants," by Nupur Agrawal

2009 Essay Compendium (554Kb pdf)

2009 Winner (174Kb pdf) "The Ethics of a Default Organ Donor Status," by Bryan Wilson

2008 Essay Compendium (1.12Mb pdf)

2008 Winner (223Kb pdf) - "Refuting the Emanuels' Deliberative Model as the Ideal Physician-Patient Relationship," by Michael Millstone

2007 Essay Compendium (632Kb pdf)

2007 Winner (21Kb pdf) - "Quality of Life," by Joseph Walch

Holt Bioethics Essay Award for Medical Students

We are pleased to announce the three finalists:

John Doehring – MS2 – An Imperative Step in Healthcare Decisions Making: Canonizing the Principles of a Bad Death
Albert Lee – MS1 – Disappearing Drugs: The Impact of Drug Shortages on Patient Care and Corporate Social Responsibility in the Pharmaceutical Industry
Joseph Peterson – MS1 – Obesity Stigma: A Symptom of an Inability Empathize

The winner of the award will be announced on April 18, 2013 at the Student Government Association’s Student Awards Night. A compendium of this year's submissions will be available after the event.

This annual award will recognize the best essay on a topic in Bioethics by a medical student from the UT Health Science Center San Antonio School of Medicine. The essay topic will be chosen by the medical student and all submitted essays will be assessed by a selected panel of healthcare ethicists and knowledgeable physicians. Essays can be submitted to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by 11:59 PM on January 18, 2013. The winner of the essay contest will be announced in April. All medical students are eligible. There will be a monetary prize of $1,000 for the award each year, with an accompanying award plaque. Second- and third-place prizes will also be awarded for $300 and $200 respectively.

What is Bioethics? Bioethics is a branch of applied ethics that studies the philosophical, social, and legal issues arising in medicine and the life sciences. It is chiefly concerned with human life and well-being.