Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society () is an honor society in the field of medicine. It has active chapters in 132 LCME-accredited medical schools in the United States and Lebanon. It annually elects over 4,000 new members. A 2021 JAMA article, noted "Alpha Omega Alpha (ΑΩΑ) honor society membership is the hallmark of academic achievement in undergraduate medical education, and ΑΩΑ membership is associated with future success in academic medicine."

History

In 1902, third-year medical student William Webster Root founded Alpha Omega Alpha while attending the College of Physicians and Surgeons (now the University of Illinois College of Medicine). Alpha Omega Alpha was founded as a coed honor society to recognize scholarly achievement and professional conduct among physicians and medical students. Its founding members were Milton Weston Hall, John Eddy Haskell, George Herbert Howard, Ernest Sisson Moore, William H. Moore, William Webster Root, Benjamin Thomas, Charles Lafayette Williams, and Wenzel Matthias Wochos.

The founders held the first organizational meeting on August 2, 1902. The society's papers were donated to the United States National Library of Medicine in 1973 by John Z. Bowers and in 2000 by Gladys Brill Brampton. Its national headquarters is in Aurora, Colorado. Alpha Omega Alpha first published its medical humanities journal, The Pharos, in January 1938; it was named after the Pharos lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Membership

Alpha Omega Alpha elects over 4,000 new members annually. Members are selected based on for their academic performance, leadership, patient care, and service. Alpha Omega Alpha has been inclusive of race, color, creed, sex, and social standing from its founding.

Controversies

Alpha Omega Alpha elections at some institutions have been influenced by internal political and racial bias. A 2017 publication in JAMA Internal Medicine found that "Black and Asian medical students were less likely than their white counterparts to be members of ΑΩΑ, which may reflect bias in selection. In turn, ΑΩΑ membership selection may affect future opportunities for minority medical students." This pattern persisted despite controlling for other variables, such as extracurricular activities.

Many American medical schools do not have student chapters of Alpha Omega Alpha. For example, Mt. Sinai Icahn School of Medicine decided to completely forgo medical student elections into the society in September 2018. Additionally, there are no Alpha Omega chapters at Harvard, Yale, or Mayo Clinic.

See also

  • Honor society
  • Professional fraternities and sororities

References

  • Alpha Omega Alpha Archives (1894–1992)—National Library of Medicine finding aid

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