A chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) has been officially established at the Burrell College of Osteopathic Medicine. The nationally recognized society honors students, residents and faculty who are exemplars of compassionate patient care and who serve as role models, mentors and leaders in medicine.
Nancy Phu, founding student of Burrell’s GHHS, says she established the society in honor of her fellow colleagues. “I have seen so many incredible community initiatives from my classmates and wanted them to be recognized for the compassion they have demonstrated to the underserved population in our borderland region.”
Membership in the new society is selective and will be limited to 10-15% of each class. Students in their third year of medical school must be nominated by their fellow peers. A selection committee consisting of deans, basic sciences and clinical faculty, and previously inducted GHHS student members will then review nominations for academic standing. Finalists will be asked to submit an official application that addresses how they have exemplified humanism in medicine and what future community service projects they hope to develop to promote compassionate care and support for patients.
“Members will have a responsibility to model, support and advocate for compassionate, patient-centered care throughout their careers,” says GHHS Chapter Advisor Adela Lente, MD, who also serves as an associate professor of clinical medicine and associate dean of clinical education. “These interactions are what we all expect when we seek care from physicians for ourselves or our loved ones.”
This semester, 22 medical students have been selected as the inaugural members of the GHHS at Burrell College. For the first and only time, the inductees are fourth-year medical students. The students will be honored in an induction ceremony later this year.
This year’s inductees are: Rochelle Almario, Brooke Brown, Monique Davis, Michelle Davis, Alexander Dresden, Dominique Giordano, Wesley Goodrich, Dana Hong, Giselle Irio, Michael Lambing, Katherine Manseau, Trevor Miller, Holly Nummerdor, Carli Ogle, Nancy Phu, Victoria-Lynn Ramos, Hayle Scanlan, Sidra Shah, Anita Shrivastava, Cristian Valdez, Macken Yrun and Jennifer Yurick.
Since its inception in 2002, GHHS has grown in influence to become a vital part of medical school and residency training program cultures throughout the U.S. Inspiration for GHHS came from medical educators and residency program directors who expressed a need for a way to identify applicants to residency training programs who had outstanding clinical and interpersonal skills.
The creation of a GHHS chapter signifies that an institution places high value on the interpersonal skills and attitudes that are essential for the highest level of patient care. Nationally, the Gold Humanism Honor Society currently has about 30,000 members in training and practice.
