Hooding and Commencement - Oregon Health & Science University

The Edward S. Hayes
Gold-Headed Cane Award
Edward S. Hayes
Gold-Headed Cane Award Nominees
Emma Benzar
Jessica R. Carlson
Michael Goodwin
Emily M. Houle
Brian R. Winters
Lily Jane Wittich
Student Awards
The Edward S. Hayes Gold-Headed Cane Award
of the OHSU School of Medicine, with the trust
it symbolizes, is presented annually to a member of
the graduating medical class who has been selected
for this high honor by a vote of his or her peers
and teachers. The award is given to a student in
recognition of compassionate devotion and effective
service to the sick, with the conviction that its holder
will forever epitomize and uphold the traditions of
the true physician.
The gold-headed cane represents the spirit of service
which is based upon the precepts of the Oath of
Hippocrates, Prayer of Maimonides, and the Golden
Rule. In addition to the cane and a commemorative
plaque, a monetary gift is awarded to support the
furtherance of the recipient’s postgraduate education.
A tradition at a number of American medical schools
today, this award originated with the late Dr. William
J. Kerr of the University Of California School Of
Medicine. He noted that there were many awards
for scholarship or other similar accomplishments, but
none for the qualities of mind, heart and hand that
are so much a part of the true physician.
A gold-headed cane was selected to symbolize the
award because it is rich in historical significance.
The physician of the late seventeenth century,
of whom Dr. John Radcliffe is an example, was
distinguished by his silk coat, breeches and stockings,
buckled shoes, lace ruffles, full-bottomed wig and
his gold-headed cane. Symbolic of the wand of
Aesculapius, the physician’s cane was usually of
considerable length and was provided with a knob or
bar containing a vinaigrette that was held to the nose
to ward off noxious vapors arising from the sick room.
But Radcliffe’s cane was somewhat different. It was
of the variety known as Malacca, with long metal
ferrule and gold handle, measuring in all only three
feet, three inches in length. Its ends were indented
and not removable and its shape suggested that it was
used for support.
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