Nominations open June 2024.
The Howard Williams Medal recognises a member of the Paediatrics & Child Health Division who has made an outstanding contribution to improving the health of children and young people in Australia and/or Aotearoa New Zealand.
The Medal is awarded by the College each year at RACP Congress, where the recipient gives an oration regarding their contribution.
Learn more about the life of Dr Howard Williams, who the honour is named after.
Professor David Isaacs | 2023 recipient
Professor David Isaacs has made major contributions to our college, in both the education and advocacy spaces. He was part of the RACP Written Examinations Committee, first as a member (1991-1994) then Secretary (1994-1997) then Chair from 1998–2003. He was also a member of the RACP Clinical Examinations Committee for 23 years, including 9 years as Secretary. He has been the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Paediatrics & Child Health (JPCH) since 2009. His editorials every month are insightful and thought provoking. For his services to the RACP, he was awarded the John Sands Medal in 2015.
At the Children’s Hospital at Westmead, he was Director of Clinical Education for 4 years, transforming the hospital’s education program. Along with Dr Henry Kilham, he became concerned about the difficult ethical problems faced by paediatricians. He undertook ethics training, gaining a graduate diploma in bioethics from Monash and developed the hospital’s Clinical Ethics Service which he led until 2021.
In 2005 he initiated a Refugee Clinic at the Children's Hospital at Westmead, working there for 17 years. He has always been a strong advocate for children of asylum seekers and refugees, speaking widely to trauma and torture services, schools, medical students and universities on the needs of refugee children. After consulting on children being held in immigration detention in Nauru, at considerable personal risk (the Border Force Act, 2015 provided for up to 2 years imprisonment for revealing details of immigration detention condition) he revealed to the public and his profession the deplorable conditions prevailing on Nauru.
Despite his accolades and achievements, David is a humble man who, like Howard Williams, has improved the lives of children and brought credit to our profession.
See past Howard Williams Medal recipients.
Eligibility
Nominees must be:
- a Fellow of the RACP's Paediatrics & Child Health Division
- nominated by a Fellow or trainee of the RACP's Divisions, Faculties and Chapters
Nominees cannot submit a nomination on their own behalf.
A non-Fellow may be considered in exceptional circumstances only.
Prize
The recipient of the Howard Williams Medal receives:
- the Howard Williams Medal, presented at the 2023 RACP Congress
- full RACP Congress registration, including the Gala Dinner
- return economy Australian domestic or trans-Tasman airfares and up to 3 nights' accommodation
- an invitation to give an oration on their contributions as part of the 2023 RACP Congress program
Selection criteria
You must demonstrate how your nominee has made an outstanding contribution to improving the health of children and young people in Australia and/or Aotearoa New Zealand in one or more of the following areas:
1. Education and teaching
- Evidence of national and/or international contribution to leadership and innovation in teaching and professional education by the nominee.
- Involvement in undergraduate and postgraduate education at a national and/or international level.
2. Research
- Research contributions of national and/or international significance with dissemination in peer reviewed publications (national/international) and other international forums. This may include presentations by invitation in plenary sessions at meetings of national and/or international significance.
- Evidence of national and/or international competitive research funding.
3. Professional service and leadership
- Recognition as an expert in child and/or youth health at a national and/or international level.
- Leadership in national and/or international organisations.
- Senior administrative leadership in university, hospital or other professional organisations.
4. Policy and advocacy
- Involvement in the development of policy at a national and/or international level.
- Recognition as an advocate for children and young people at a national and/or international level.
5. Contribution to disadvantaged groups
- Evidence of contribution locally, nationally and/or internationally to disadvantaged children and young people, including:
- Indigenous groups
- refugee groups
- rural and remote areas
- low socioeconomic groups
Selection process
All nominations will be assessed based on the outlined selection criteria.
The Paediatrics & Child Health Division Council reserves the right not to award the Medal if all nominations received don't meet the selection criteria.
Unsuccessful nominations, that are of sufficient quality, can be carried over to the following year upon request.
For more information about the Howard Williams Medal, contact the RACP Foundation.