Primary Care for All Americans (PC4AA), a grassroots movement advocating for equitable access to healthcare, has established a new award in honour of Stephen Bergman (Balliol 1966), who writes under the pen name Samuel Shem. He has also been named the inaugural recipient of the PC4AA Samuel Shem Award for Radical Honesty and Moral Courage in Medicine.
The award recognises Stephen’s contribution to discussions around medical ethics, patient care, and the importance of human connection in medicine. Stephen, who spent three decades on the faculty of Harvard Medical School, is best known as the author of The House of God, a novel examining the culture of medical training and hospital life.
Announcing the award, PC4AA noted Stephen’s long-standing emphasis on ‘a form of medicine rooted in presence, honesty, and an unambiguous commitment to seeing patients as whole people’.
The inaugural award will be presented to Stephen at the organisation’s national summit on 20 May 2026.