Medical
student wins Beard Award
by Kim Miller
Dr. John Piede, who distinguished himself as a patient advocate during his education at the Medical College of Georgia, has received MCG’s 2006 John F. Beard Award for Compassionate Care.
The $25,000 award is presented annually by William Porter “Billy” Payne and his wife, Martha, to a graduating MCG student who exemplifies caring and compassion in health care. Mr. Payne, recently named chair of the Augusta National Golf Club, established the award in 1998 to memorialize his father-in-law, who died of cancer in 1997.
The award honors MCG President Emeritus Francis J. Tedesco and Dr. Mark F. Williams, a 1988 graduate of the MCG School of Medicine who treated Mr. Beard during his hospitalization at MCG.
Dr. Piede earned a medical degree during MCG’s May 12 commencement. A native of Atlanta, he graduated summa cum laude from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in applied biology. He was selected for the Georgia Tech Faculty Honors Award during each of his four years, and received the Herschel B. Clanton Junior Scholarship Award in 2001.
He maintained a School of Medicine Faculty Scholarship throughout his MCG education. He was selected for several leadership roles, including the committee to recruit the associate dean of student affairs in 2004 and the School of Medicine Admissions Committee from 2003-06. He was an Office of Admissions tour guide for prospective medical students and president of the MCG chapter of the American Medical Student Association.
Dr. Piede also volunteered at Augusta’s Salvation Army Homeless Clinic.
“John is one of the most genuinely compassionate, sensitive students I have known in more than 20 years on the MCG faculty,” Dr. Ruth-Marie Fincher, vice dean for academic affairs, wrote in her nomination letter.
While completing rotations at the MCG Children’s Medical Center, he often went beyond the call of duty to make his patients more comfortable, according to Dr. Robyn Hatley, professor of surgery and pediatrics.
“John, without prompting, would stay late to help the nursing staff, the house staff and even the janitorial staff,” wrote Dr. Hatley.
Dr. Sam Schroerlucke, an orthopaedics resident who worked with Dr. Piede during his pediatric surgery rotation, recalled his interaction with a family being discharged from the hospital. Despite a busy schedule in the operating room that day, Dr. Piede took the time to help the patient out to his car.
“This extra attention meant so much to the patient and his mom,” Dr. Schroerlucke wrote. “When I saw them back in clinic, they raved at how great it was that John gave them that personal attention. In retrospect, I remembered that I was a little upset with John that he wasn’t as quick to move onto the next child as I. When that patient came back and expressed his gratitude for John’s help, it again made me realize just how special John Piede is, not only as a physician, but as a person as well.”
Dr. Piede begins an internal medicine residency at Wake Forest University Baptist Hospital in June.