UT-Houston Delta Chapter Alpha Omega Alpha
Medical Honor Society
WHAT IS AOA?
• The National Medical Honor Society in US and Canada o National headquarters is in Palo Alto, CA
• Founded in 1902 at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago by William Webster Root
• Currently 120 Active Chapters and 3 Associations o AOA chapters in all but a few medical schools
• UT-Houston AOA Chapter is the Delta chapter in Texas
AOA MISSION STATEMENT
• Alpha Omega Alpha — dedicated to the belief that in the profession of medicine we will improve care for all by
o Recognizing high educational achievement
o Honoring gifted teaching
o Encouraging the development of leaders in academia and the community
o Supporting the ideals of humanism
o Promoting service to others.
WHAT DOES AOA DO? • Nationally, Alpha Omega Alpha sponsors several
programs, including: o Carolyn L. Kuckein Student Research Fellowships - a research
fellowship that provides $3,000 to a student and $500 to his/her faculty mentor
o Helen H. Glaser Student Essay Awards and The Pharos Poetry Competition
o Medical Student Service Project Awards
o Annual Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award
o Senior AOA Banquet
o And a whole lot more!
WHAT IS MEMBERSHIP BASED ON?
• Candidates must demonstrate:
o Scholarship o Strength of character
leadership among peers professionalism and a firm sense of ethics promise of future success in medicine commitment to service in the school and community
HOW ARE STUDENTS ELECTED TO AOA? • July - MS IV’s who meet the minimum requirements are notified
by email to submit a standard CV o Research experience
o Publications
o Medical School activities
o Awards during Medical School
o Community service during Medical School
o Additional relevant activities or contributions
• Up to one-sixth of a graduating class may be elected to membership
o In August 2014, 38 students were elected to AOA
WHEN ARE STUDENTS ELECTED TO AOA?
• Early August - Faculty AOA members review: 1. Grades
2. Submitted CV form
3. Bluebook
• Mid August - Executive Committee reviews candidates submitted by AOA Faculty
• Late August - Chapter members meet and vote
WHEN DOES ELECTION TAKE PLACE?
• Election results announced to members before September 1 so membership can be listed on residency applications
Note: September 15th is the earliest date to submit the residency application for the majority or specialties
HOW IS THE TOP ONE-SIXTH OF A CLASS DETERMINED SINCE UT-H DOES NOT HAVE CLASS RANK?
• Minimum requirements for consideration = six Honors grades in years 1-3 (Honors required in both 1st 2 yrs and in 3rd year)
• Honors grades are then weighted by: o Course hours during 1st and 2nd year
i.e. Honors in Biochem > Honors in Genetics
o Length of course during 3rd year i.e. Honors in 6 wk clerkship > Honors in 4 wk clerkship
MD/PhD or MD/MPH students are considered in their MS IV year
• After calculating the total number of points each student received for his/her total number of Honors weighted by course length, a “rank list” is developed
• Research and extracurriculars are particularly important for those students nearing the “cut-off” point of the top 1/6 of the class o For example, if there is a tie for the last place within the 1/6 limit and one
student has NO extracurriculars and the other has been involved in research/volunteer activities/etc, then the latter may be chosen
o *There has been discussion about developing a point system for extracurricular activities; however, this has not happened yet
HOW IS THE TOP ONE-SIXTH OF A CLASS DETERMINED SINCE UT-H DOES NOT HAVE CLASS RANK?
AOA CLASS OF 2015 (MS 4’S) • New members: 38 students
• Total number of Honors: 17 – 26
Specialties represented in
AOA 2014 Graduating Class o Anesthesiology (1)
o Internal Medicine (5)
o Family Medicine (1)
o Dermatology (5)
o Radiology (6)
o ENT (2)
o Orthopedics (3)
o Pathology (1)
o General Surgery (1)
o Neurosurgery (1)
o Pediatrics (2)
o Ob-Gyn (1)
o Med-Peds (1)
o Neurology (1)
o Emergency Med (5)
o Urology (3)
NEED MORE INFORMATION?
Eugene Boisaubin, M.D. Chapter Councilor UT faculty advisor
Amy Alexander, MS IV Chad Thompson, MS IV
Student Co-Presidents
Office of Student Affairs
AOA Website: www.alphaomegaalpha.org