Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA)
Honor Medical Society
Official Alpha Omega Alpha Website
Boston University School of Medicine is one chapter out of AΩA’s 120 chapters in medical schools throughout the United States.
The AΩA Mission Statement
Alpha Omega Alpha—dedicated to 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.
AΩA Members
As with all true honors, the honor of AΩA membership is accompanied by the responsibility to sustain the vision and goals of the society:
- Professionalism — To hold the conviction that professionalism in medicine is a worthy goal.
- Scholarship — To promote scholarship among medical professionals.
- Leadership — To set an example worth emulating.
- Service — To serve the medical profession and the community.
Alpha Omega Alpha needs your commitment and leadership as we continue to carry out these goals and to expand our program and services.
Selection Process of New Members to AΩA
The Constitution of AΩA gives many degrees of freedom to each chapter for the process of election of student members within certain firm guidelines. These can be summarized as follows:
- At approximately 16 months before a given class will graduate from medical school, the Councilor must arrange with the dean’s office to receive in confidence a list of the top quartile as measured by academic performance.
- From this top quartile of students, each chapter may elect to AΩA membership up to one-sixth of the projected number of students that will graduate. The chapter may elect up to half of that one-sixth of students in the spring of the third year, and the remainder at any time from the fall of the fourth year until graduation. There is wide variability in the process among chapters. Some elect no junior students, and several elect all student members in the spring of their senior year just prior to graduation.
- Those students chosen from the top quartile for election are picked not only for their high academic standing, but as well for leadership among their peers, professionalism and a firm sense of ethics, promise of future success in medicine, and a commitment to service in the school and community. By adherence to these criteria it has happened that one or more of the highest ranked students by grade point average have not been elected to the society.
- Each chapter may elect each year up to three residents/fellows to membership and one or two faculty members. These individuals are expected to be selected by a caucus of student members of the society at some time before the induction ceremony during the senior year. With input from faculty members and the office of the dean, one or two alumni/alumnae may be elected each year as well.
The Deans of the Office of Student Affairs, along with Dr. Barry Manuel & Dr. David Bailen, convene several times in the months leading up to October in order to select the new members to be elected into AΩA.
Faculty Councillor:
Phyllis Carr, M.D.
Associate Dean for Student Affairs
plcarr@bu.edu
