Beyond the White Coat: Future Physicians Share Personal Stories About How They've Earned and Kept Patient Trust

What does professionalism in medicine mean today? For the winners of the ABIM Foundation's fourth annual Building Trust Essay Contest, professionalism isn't just about white coats or expert opinion – it's about trust, humility, and being fully present for the moments that matter to their patients.

The four winners – along with brief excerpts from their essays – are as follows:

Rana Barghout, Weill Cornell Medicine

Some things, as doctors, we cannot fix. But trust is an exception. It is earned by remaining present, even when the bridge gets shaky. As a student, I didn't need to make any grand gestures. I simply needed to stay. We can ask, "Can you tell me about her?" And then, we can listen. Because while some words are heavier than others, trust has a weight of its own that can be powerful enough to help carry people through.  

Brittany Ezenwa, University of Texas Medical Branch John Sealy School of Medicine

Medicine once demanded distance, reserve, polished shoes, and practiced hands. But the children I met did not care how many white coats you owned. They cared if you remembered their favorite color. If you sat cross-legged on a tile floor to help shape a piece of their heart.

Adil Hassan*, a third-year medical student

For many patients I have met as a medical student, health care is not simply about receiving treatment; it is also about feeling heard, respected, and understood. This shift is especially vital in communities where cultural differences shape health beliefs and generational divides influence faith in providers. I strive to be a physician who embodies this vision of professionalism - one who builds trust through humility, listening, and respect. By combining empathy with expertise, I hope to provide care that honors both the vulnerabilities and values of those I serve.

Benjamin Popokh, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center

In a town where everyone knew each other, the traditional boundaries between physician and patient blurred. My first lesson in trust came when I realized that my patients weren't just patients. They were my neighbors, the people I saw at the grocery store, the barista who made my morning coffee, and the family that invited me to dinner.

"Medical professionalism has long been a guiding compass, but in today's shifting health care landscape, its meaning is being reimagined," said Jessica Perlo, MPH, Executive Vice President of the ABIM Foundation. "Trust and professionalism are inseparable, and these essays remind us that trust isn't earned through perfection, but through presence, vulnerability, and empathy. They also offer a powerful reflection on the ongoing journey of becoming more worthy of the trust we seek to uphold."

Honorable mentions were awarded to five essayists:

Ashwarya Devason, Harvard Medical School

Max Holt, University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine

Manal Imran, FIU Herbert Wetheim College of Medicine

Dominique Mosley, MD, Emory University

Akila Muthukumar, Harvard Medical School

Essays submitted by current and future physicians, nurses, physician assistants, and others from more than 80 institutions across the U.S. were reviewed and scored by panel of judges representing a wide swath of the health care system.

Criteria included the (1) connection to the topic of trust, (2) quality of writing, (3) novelty of the message, and (4) opportunity for others to learn.

Essay Contest Judges:

George Abraham, MD, MPH, Professor of Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School; Chief of Medicine at Saint Vincent Hospital 

Margaret Flinter, APRN, PhD, FAAN, FAANP, Senior Vice President and Clinical Director of the Moses Weitzman Health System and its Community Health Center, Inc.; member of the ABIM Foundation's Board of Trustees 

Erica Johnson, MD, FACP, FIDSA, Senior Vice President for Academic and Medical Affairs of the American Board of Internal Medicine 

Bruce A. Leff, MD, Professor of Medicine and Director of the Center for Transformative Geriatric Research at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; member of the ABIM Foundation's Board of Trustees 

Jessica Perlo, MPH, Executive Vice President of the ABIM Foundation 

Margaret Sorg, DNP, MS, medical student at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine; winner of the 2024 Building Trust Essay Contest 

Daniel Wolfson, MHSA, former Executive Vice President and COO of the ABIM Foundation 

Heather Comer Yun, MD, FACP, FIDSA, Chief of Staff at South Texas Veterans Health Care System; member of the ABIM Foundation's Board of Trustees 

Full essays can be read here.

*Adil Hassan is a pseudonym used at the request of the author.

About the ABIM Foundation
The ABIM Foundation's mission is to advance medicalit l professionalism to improve the health care system by collaborating with physicians and physician leaders, medical trainees, health care delivery systems, payers, policymakers, consumer organizations and patients to foster a shared understanding of professionalism and how they can adopt the tenets of professionalism in practice. To learn more about the ABIM Foundation, visit www.abimfoundation.org and connect on LinkedIn.