Shelley Collins named UF Medicine Hippocratic Award winner for second year in a row
Graduating UF medical students annually bestow the honor upon an exemplary teacher and mentor
April 30, 2024 — As members of the University of Florida medical school class of 2024 gathered at Wilmot Botanical Gardens at noon April 25, they were determined not to divulge their big secret ahead of schedule.
The class, along with College of Medicine faculty and staff, assembled at the gardens to announce the next winner of the Hippocratic Award, bestowed annually by graduating medical students to an exemplary teacher and mentor who embodies the ideals of the Hippocratic oath.
“For many people at the College of Medicine, this person is truly our closest confidant, our biggest advocate and our champion,” said M.D. class of 2024 President Jeff Dela Cruz before unveiling the surprise. “And I think those qualities and that sense of trust were born out of the fact that this person established this role of mentorship within the context of a friendship. We can truly call this person a friend, in addition to a teacher and a mentor.”
Dela Cruz went on to announce this year’s winner: Shelley Collins, M.D., FAAP, the senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education and a professor of pediatrics, who previously served as associate dean for student affairs. This year marked the second time since the college began the tradition 55 years ago in 1969 that a faculty member received the honor for back-to-back years. Previously, the late, beloved college legend Hugh M. “Smiley” Hill, M.D., won the honor in 1988 and ’89.
Collins, who has been a faculty member with the college for nearly two decades, joins the ranks of 13 other former and current faculty members to receive the award multiple times. Of this group, six faculty members have received the honor on three or more occasions, making them ineligible for further consideration.
Medical students in the class of 2024, who began their studies in summer 2020 during a period of great uncertainty across the globe, credit faculty members like Collins with providing a welcoming environment, despite many initial interactions and bonding experiences taking place virtually. For Collins, getting to work with students is a labor of love.
“I am humbled to be part of your life,” Collins said. “I love doing what I do because of what you guys give to me. I never thought when I was going to medical school that I would end up in a position where I would be given the opportunity to spend so much time with people like you. And looking back on it, I would not have it any other way. You have absolutely become part of who I am.”