The Jimmie Holland Lifetime Achievement Award

Award Criteria

Purpose

This is the highest honor conferred by APOS. The Jimmie Holland Lifetime Achievement Award serves to honor an APOS member who best embodies the qualities of leadership and patient-centered care, like Dr. Jimmie Holland, one of the founders of the field of psychosocial oncology and the founder of APOS. The awardee has achieved distinguished leadership in the field of psychosocial oncology, with outstanding contributions in leadership, training, research, clinical practice, and service to APOS.

Eligibility

The nominee shall be an APOS member and demonstrate distinctive achievements in:

  • Leadership in psychosocial oncology and service to APOS
  • Achievements in clinical care, research, and training.

To nominate an APOS member for this award you will need to submit the following through the online nomination portal:

  • A curriculum vitae (or resume) of the nominee;
  • A letter of nomination that specifically states why the nominee is deserving of the award by providing evidence for how the individual has contributed to the enhancement of psychosocial oncology;
  • Three letters of reference

Award Benefits

The Jimmie Holland Lifetime Achievement Award recipient shall receive a recognition award during the awards ceremony, a $1,000 honorarium and an annual conference complimentary registration.

    About the Award: History of Service

    Dr. Holland fully believed in psychosocial oncology care for all and she lived a life to make it so. Where she realized insufficiency, she built bridges of resolution. Perhaps one of the greatest lessons she has taught us is to identify the need and fill it whole-heartedly with a multi -faceted approach. We will continue to find many needs as we push the field of psychosocial oncology forward.

    For nearly half a century, Dr. Holland worked tirelessly and brilliantly to establish and expand a global movement in psychosocial oncology. Her countless accomplishments included: serving as the inaugural chief of the psychiatry service at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the first academic leadership position of its kind; being the founder of the American Psychosocial Oncology Society (APOS) in 1986 and the International Psycho-Oncology Society (IPOS) in 1984; and editing both the authoritative textbook, Psycho-Oncology, and the leading journal for our field, Psycho-Oncology. Most importantly, Dr. Holland leaves behind an unprecedented legacy of training and mentoring hundreds of psychosocial oncology professionals who will perpetuate her passion for scientific rigor and compassionate clinical care of people touched by cancer.

    For the APOS community, our society would simply not exist without her. We still miss her terribly and we remain deeply committed to honoring her legacy. We continuously seek ways to incorporate her vision and guidance into our strategic thoughts and actions. We strive to provide our members with opportunities to continue her legacy, to give to her priorities and to forge ahead with placing psychosocial oncology at the forefront of cancer care.