June 11, 2025 — On May 9, members of the University of Florida medical school class of 2025 gathered at Wilmot Botanical Gardens to celebrate an outstanding faculty member who has had a tremendous impact on their journey.

The Hippocratic Award is among the highest honors at the College of Medicine, annually bestowed by the graduating medical school class upon a professor who exemplifies the ideals of the Hippocratic Oath through their teachings and mentorship.

“It’s humbling to receive any award, but it’s more meaningful when the recipient is chosen by the students,” said presenter Shireen Madani Sims, M.D., the associate dean for student affairs and chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology. “Today’s honoree is an exceptional teacher and clinician who always keeps patients at the heart of her work.”

This year’s winner, Shelley Collins, M.D., FAAP, the senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education and a professor of pediatrics, has been honored with the Hippocratic Award for the third year in a row. Since the tradition began in 1969, she has become the seventh three–time winner and the first to achieve it in three consecutive years.

“She is the Michael Jordan of this award — three-peat,” said M.D. class of 2025 President Olivier Barolette. “It’s difficult to grasp or encompass all of what this faculty member means to our class and the institution.”

He then began to tell an inspiring story of when Collins shared true mentorship with him during what he described was his lowest point in academia, one of many examples that illustrate how she embodies the spirit of the accolade. Being chosen by her students as both their commencement speaker and Hippocratic Award recipient came as a profound and surprising honor.

“Believe it or not, I don’t know what to say,” Collins said. “This means more to me than you can imagine. When I look at what I do, I get to come to work and interact with you, hear about your lives and what you aspire to do and be.”

Winning this award for the third time has made Collins ineligible for further consideration, but her greatest honor will continue on through her students as they carry her mentorship with their future endeavors. After the ceremony concluded, students lined up to congratulate her, snap photos and share hugs.

“I get to be part of something not many people do — It’s a real gift every single day,” Collins said. “You see it as laying problems at my feet, but that’s not how I look at it. I look at it as what comes next, after the hard stuff. I get to hear about the hard stuff and help you walk through it. Your success is everything to me. I’m here to watch you fly.”