Penn State College of Medicine presents Commencement 2024 Awards

Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) is the first and most recognized medical honor society in the world. Its purpose is to recognize and perpetuate excellence in the medical profession. The letters Alpha-Omega-Alpha are derived from the Greek form of the society’s motto: “Be Worthy to Serve the Suffering.” AOA was founded in 1902 by William Webster Root and five other medical students in Chicago and now has 125 chapters.

Alpha Omega Alpha is a nonprofit organization whose mission statement embodies “the belief that in the profession of medicine we will improve care for all patients by recognizing high educational achievement, honoring gifted teaching, encouraging the development of leaders in academia and the community, supporting the ideals of humanism, and promoting service to others.”

AOA’s programs are available to all medical students and physicians, and they include visiting professorships, support of student research projects, funding of service activities, recognition of resident physician excellence, and national awards for both professionalism and gifted teaching. AOA publishes The Pharos, a quarterly compilation of essays, poetry, photography and other works related to humanistic medicine.

Class of 2024 members of Alpha Omega Alpha National Medical Honor Society, Pennsylvania Eta Chapter

The Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) is dedicated to recognizing medical and nursing students who are “role models of the human connection in health care.” Established by pediatrician Dr. Arnold Gold in 2002, GHHS now has more than 180 chapters in medical schools and residency programs nationwide and is expanding to reach a global audience of health care providers. Each year, rising third-year medical students nominate their peers to GHHS based on clinical and classroom interactions with patients, staff and each other. The top 10% of those nominees are inducted into the cohort.

At Penn State, the home for GHHS is the Department of Humanities, whose motto is “Advancing humanism in medicine and society.” Fourth-year medical students work with a humanities faculty advisor to carry out activities during their final year of medical school, including Thank a Resident Day, Solidarity Day/Week, and a capstone service project. Penn State College of Medicine also has a thriving residency chapter that engages in humanistic outreach each year.

Members of the Gold Humanism Honor Society