The Wisconsin Medical Alumni Association (WMAA) honored its 2024 Distinguished Medical Alumni Award recipients during a banquet on April 19 at the Madison Concourse Hotel. Among the awardees was David Bernhardt, MD, professor, Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine. Bernhardt received the Ralph Hawley Distinguished Community Service Award, which honors alumni who have made outstanding contributions to the local community through medical practice, teaching, research, or other humanitarian activities.
Bernhardt is one of the foremost experts in primary care sports medicine in the country, and he is a highly regarded clinician, researcher, and teacher. In addition to his busy general pediatric practice and sports medicine clinic, he serves as a team physician for the UW–Madison Athletic Department and directs the Primary Care Sports Medicine Fellowship. His local outreach activities include developing a course on sports medicine for high school coaches, serving as a team or event physician for numerous local high school teams or athletic events, and helping organize free sports physicals for student athletes who are either uninsured or who have barriers to accessing their primary care providers.