Gold Humanism Honor Society
Gold Humanism Honor Society Welcomes New Members
This article was written by current fourth year medical student, Steven Bachta.
Steven Bachta
Intimate is not a word usually associated with award ceremonies. However, quite fittingly, the inaugural Gold Humanism Honor Society induction ceremony held this past March was exactly that. Seventy family, friends, and faculty gathered in Bond Chapel to support the inductees from the Class of 2006. The Keynote address entitled, The Sociobiology of Humanism was given by Dr. John Lantos. Its message of humanistic necessity has continued to resonate with its audience. The twenty three new members of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) were then called upon to stand and be honored by Pritzker faculty as well as Dr. Norma Wagoner, former Dean of Students at the Pritzker School of Medicine and Chair of the Medical and Professional Advisory Council for the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. In addition to the students recognized, Kyle Nash was awarded the GHHS Founder’s Award for her work in starting Pritzker’s chapter, while Dr. Joel Schwab was awarded the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Faculty Award.
The Gold Humanism Honor Society honors senior medical students and physician teachers for demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service. It remains the only nationally recognized honor society in which students are nominated for election by their peers.
In 2005, the Pritzker School of Medicine established a GHHS chapter at the University of Chicago to honor senior medical students, residents, role-model physician teachers and other exemplars recognized for “demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion, and dedication to service.” The election process is based upon the recommendations of third year student peers and GHHS Selection Committee deliberations. The Selection Committee is composed of a broad array of individuals who interact with students in a variety of settings: clerkship administrators, nurses, residents, faculty, and medical school staff.
The selection committee recently named the senior students from the Class of 2007 who will be inducted into the GHHS next spring. To see the current list of new GHHS members, please visit the Gold Humanism Honor Society webpage.
