Farzana Hoque, M.D., associate professor of internal medicine and acting internship co-director at Saint Louis University School of Medicine, has been named a 2024 Leader of Distinction, the YWCA Metro St. Louis recently announced.

Nominees are put forth by their peers and selected by an independent panel based on their professional achievements and contributions to the community. Hoque will be honored at the 44th Annual YWCA Leader Lunch on Friday, Dec. 13. She will join the esteemed YWCA Academy of Leaders, a group of more than 450 honorees from the past four decades that includes the most notable and accomplished women in the St. Louis region. 

Hoque stays busy by taking on a variety of roles. In addition to her position on the faculty at SLU, she provides acute, comprehensive medical care to complex hospitalized patients and co-manages patients with surgical specialties. She is the inaugural medical director of Bordley Tower at SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital and a member of the Faculty Senate. She is also the president of the Society of Hospital Medicine St. Louis Chapter. 

“In her years at SLU, Dr. Hoque has directed and expanded hospital medicine services and positively impacted the students and residents she encounters,” said Christine Jacobs, M.D., vice president for medical affairs and dean of SLU’s School of Medicine. 

Hoque mentors underrepresented undergraduate students aspiring to be physicians, including high school students from the Collegiate School of Medicine & Bioscience. She volunteers at St. Louis CRUSH (Community Resources United to Stop Heroin), providing vital resources in the fight against the heroin crisis in the St. Louis community.

Hoque has been publicly acknowledged for her achievements which sends a powerful message to women of all ages and backgrounds that success is attainable, despite the obstacles they may encounter, the YWCA Metro St. Louis said in a press release. 

Notable awards Hoque has received include the Society of Hospital of Medicine (SHM)’s Unsung Hero award for spearheading collaborative initiatives and actively pursuing efforts to improve diversity, equity and inclusion within her chapter. In 2021, she served as the only woman on the St. Louis Chapter board, and she has increased the representation of women hospitalist board members during her presidency. She also inaugurated the SHM St. Louis Chapter's Visionary Leadership Award to honor outstanding hospitalist leaders annually, inspiring and engaging hospitalists across Missouri

The St. Louis Business Journal named Hoque a 40 Under 40 leader, standing alongside proven leaders across all industries in St. Louis. She was also nominated by SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital nurses to throw out the Ceremonial First Pitch at a St. Louis Cardinals game at Busch Stadium in recognition of her outstanding patient care and dedicated service to the community.