Gold Humanism Honor Society

Tell Me More About Your Community: Partnerships in Humanism

This multi-year initiative encourages GHHS chapters to gather meaningful, real-world insights from the communities they serve. By understanding and honoring the diversity, cultures, values, and challenges of local populations, we aim to collectively advance humanism in healthcare. We believe humanism thrives when rooted in kindness, safety, and trust. This initiative is an opportunity for GHHS members to listen, learn, and lead with empathy.

Explore our upcoming initiative plans and find out how to get involved in Year 1 below.

Initiative At A Glance

YEARFOCUSGOAL
Year 1 (2025-2026)Community FocusGather demographic, cultural, and social insights to understand your community’s identity and diversity.
Year 2Trust & Relationship BuildingExplore local trust in healthcare systems and understand the dynamics between providers and the community.
Year 3Collaboration & ActionPartner with local organizations to address unmet needs identified in earlier years.
Year 4Reflection & Sustained ImpactEvaluate impact, share success stories, and propose long-term chapter strategies for sustained humanistic engagement.

Year 1 At A Glance

To participate in Year 1 of the initiative, we invite each GHHS chapter to complete the Community Discovery Form. This form is designed to gather thoughtful, structured input during the first phase of the four-year initiative, with a focus on demographic, cultural, and community insights.

We recognize that some GHHS chapters already engage in community discovery work early in medical school. If your chapter has existing data or insights, you’re encouraged to submit them through the Portrait of Our Community Form—a creative capstone for Year 1. This project invites chapters to visually or artistically represent the key findings from their community exploration. It’s an opportunity to move beyond data and share your community’s story in a meaningful, humanistic way.

We encourage all chapters to showcase their work and celebrate the diverse communities we serve!

Long-term Initiative Goals

  • Create a living, shared space (Community Hub) to highlight both unique and shared characteristics of GHHS chapters and the communities they serve.
  • Foster inter-chapter collaboration to support chapter growth, learning, and mutual development.
  • Advance humanism in healthcare by deepening understanding of community diversity, values, and needs.
  • Encourage empathetic leadership through intentional listening, reflection, and connection.
  • Build trust and safety by rooting humanism in community-centered relationships.
  • Engagement opportunities include hosting a town hall to foster community dialogue, collaborating on a GHHS national toolkit, and developing exchange programs or partnerships between similar communities.

Key Questions for Long-term Exploration

Chapters are invited to reflect on and explore:

  • What are we learning about our community’s evolving needs?
  • How can we collaborate with local resources for deeper insight?
  • What celebrations and traditions shape our community’s identity?
  • What is the current relationship between healthcare providers and the community?
    • Does the community trust its local healthcare system?
    • Who are the trusted voices or leaders?
    • How can we identify those voices?
  • What resources—literature, research, or lived experience—can we build upon?
  • Which social drivers of health (SDOH) present the greatest unmet needs in our community?