Leo Dermatology Award 2000
On June 9, 2000, I was presented with the Leo Dermatology Award 2000 by the chairman of the Dutch Society for Dermatology and Venereology (NVDV), prof. dr. C.A.F.M. Bruijnzeel-Koomen. This prize is awarded annually to a dermatologist who has made a significant contribution to dermatological patient care in the broadest sense of the word, which, in addition to practicing medicine, also focuses on medicine in its social context. The Award was established by Leo Pharmaceuticals and is accompanied by a cash prize. The allocation is reserved to a committee of the Dutch Society of Dermatology and Venereology, consisting of 5 of its most prominent members.
In its report to the Board of the NVDV, in which it was stated that the jury had unanimously chosen De Groot in 2000, the following activities were mentioned, among others, on the basis of which it was decided to award him the Leo Dermatology Award:
- his activities and scientific research in the field of contact allergy, and in particular cosmetic allergy;
- his activities at European level as chairman of the Working Party 'European Community Affairs' of the European Society of Contact Dermatitis, which led to the adoption in 1997 in the European Union of the law requiring the labeling of ingredients on cosmetics;
- his activities that have resulted in patients with allergic contact dermatitis due to components of shoes being reimbursed for allergen-free footwear under the AWBZ;
- his activities as chairman (1984-1999) of the Allergy and Contact Dermatoses Committee of the NVDV and the many practical advices that were given to the practicing dermatologist (regarding, for example, perfume raw materials, preservatives, corticosteroids, and the Guideline for performing epicutaneous allergological tests in private dermatological practice)
- his role in the foundation and development of the Dutch Journal of Dermatology and Venereology, of which he was the first editor-in-chief (1991-1996)
- his role in publishing three yearbooks of the Association, resulting in a financial gain to the NVDV from this previously loss-making item for the Society
- the special and efficient-effective way of running his private practice and his excellent relationship with patients, general practitioners and hospital staff.
Carrousel, the staff magazine of the Carolus hospital, gave extensive attention to dr. De Groot winning the 2000 Leo Dermatology Award (Carrousel, October 2000, number 4, 4-5). Below is the intro, you can read full article here.
The topic was also presented in the Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Dermatologie en Venereologie. In the last paragraph I was nicely characterized by one of the members of the committee. 'In short, colleague De Groot is a man of many (written) words and even more deeds. Because of his opiniated character combined with boundless energy and perseverance…..…..' Especially the phrase '… is a man of many (written) words….' is beautiful. Sometimes I think I write more than I talk. My emails are invariably a lot longer than others. What probably also played a role is how the celebratory dinner that I had with the committee went. Now I have mildly autistic traits, I don't feel at home in the company of people I don't or hardly know, and I hate small talk. So when two ladies agreed that the amuse-bouche was delicious and started philosophizing about what could be in it, I shut down and not many words came out of the winner of the Leo Dermatology Award 2000!
