At UT Southwestern Medical Center, “excellence” is one of our basic values – a commitment to strive for the highest standards in all we do, especially in our hospitals and clinics where we provide care to hundreds of thousands of patients each year.
To nurture that commitment to excellence in patient care, UT Southwestern annually recognizes clinical faculty members whose expertise, innovation, and compassion represent the very best of the UT Southwestern Health System.
Among the seven major awards presented in November 2025, Benjamin Nguyen, M.D., Professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, was recognized for his outstanding dedication to mentoring and advancing the academic careers of medical students and trainees throughout North America.
Dr. Benjamin Nguyen – Mentoring Award
Benjamin Nguyen, M.D.
Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
This award celebrates clinicians who demonstrate exceptional commitment and effectiveness as a mentor to health care providers.
Dr. Nguyen exemplifies the type of mentor every student hopes to find – the kind marked by his genuine compassion and commitment to his mentees just as much as his expertise.
Described as “a mentor’s mentor,” he's developed a reputation for going far beyond the expectations of traditional mentorship, whether that’s introducing medical students with similar backgrounds and advocating for reinstating scholarships when a student had to take an emergency medical leave.
Since 2006, Dr. Nguyen has served as the only Brain Injury Medicine Fellowship Program Director at UTSW’s Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation (PM&R) Department, shaping the careers of fellows now practicing all over North America. Through his involvement with the Joint Admission Medical Program (JAMP) since 2010, he has helped the program provide financial resources as well as mentorship for undergraduate and medical students whose backgrounds might have otherwise not allowed them to successfully pursue medicine.
In his words: "Mentorship is not an action, an occurrence, or a phone call giving advice and listening to your mentees. It’s about building relationships that help all to grow. I get as much, if not more, from my mentees as they get from me. I am surprised and humbled by this award. It is not about me, but about the work of all the mentors who helped me to be where I am today and all my mentees who motivate me to continue paying it forward."
Click here to watch a video and read more about Dr. Nguyen’s accomplishment.
To learn more about the winners of UT Southwestern’s Leaders in Clinical Excellence award winners, click here.