Tristan Altbuch, Sady Armada, Maggie Davis-Hoyda, Adam Denker, Kyle Moyles, Pragnesh Parikh, Beau Toskich and Karen Wallace have been elected to Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, which often is referred to as ‘Phi Beta Kappa for medical schools.’ Armada and Parikh also are among five students selected for the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which honors senior medical students, residents, role-model physician teachers and other exemplars recognized for demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service. Joining them in this select group are Rosemarie Garcia, Courtney Nall and Kartik Pandya.

The College of Medicine is one of 60 medical schools with a Gold Humanism chapter. Electing students to the society is one way of demonstrating that an institution places high value on the interpersonal skills and attitudes essential for excellent patient care.

Alpha Omega Alpha derives its name from the initials of the essential Greek words in a motto that translates to “worthy to serve the suffering.'' AOA has been developed over the past 100 years to recognize and enhance professionalism, academic excellence, service, and leadership within the profession. Chosen students have excelled academically and shown promise of becoming leaders in the profession. A basic premise of election to AOA is that it is, in addition to being a capstone to a student’s medical school career, an obligation in a member’s personal life as a physician to support the organization’s principled ideals.