The Gold Humanism Honor Society is a community of medical students, physicians, and other leaders who have been selected by their peers for their compassionate care. GHHS reinforces and supports the importance of the human connection in healthcare, which is essential for the health of patients and clinicians. Founded in 2002, through the generous support of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Berrie Foundation, and an anonymous donor, GHHS now has more than 180 chapters in medical schools and residency programs and more than 45,000 members. GHHS hosts many initiatives and events that are open to all, including Solidarity Week for Compassionate Care, Thank a Resident Day, the Gold Connection podcast, and Golden Glimmers.
Contact our Staff:
GHHS End of Year Housekeeping
The end of the academic year, specifically the weeks surrounding medical school graduation is a critical time for GHHS staff to received updated information, and get in touch with our student members. Students are still engaged with Gold Foundation programming, and their connection to humanism in medicine is top of mind.
GHHS staff and our GHHS After Medical School Committee are always working to connect with and create programming for our residents.
Learn more about how chapter leadership can support these efforts.
Thank a Resident Day
Gold Humanism Honor Society chapters and healthcare institutions throughout the nation celebrated Thank a Resident Day on Friday, February 24, 2023. Instagram, Twitter, and LinkedIn were filled with activities and beaming faces. Here is a small sampling, including warm wishes from Gold leaders and inspiring activities. Thank you to the 500+ residency sites that participated, and thank you to the 150,000+ resident physicians and fellows who care with such compassion every day. We see you, and we appreciate you! Save the date for next year! Friday February 23, 2024
Solidarity Week
What a week! Thank you for sharing your Solidarity Week photos with us. Stay tuned for a gallery of smiling faces!
Learn more about Solidarity Week for Compassionate Patient Care. This main page includes ideas for activities, examples from past years, and a downloadable PDF banner that can be printed locally.
2022-23 GHHS International Initiative
The heart of healthcare is humanism. And true humanistic care – compassionate, collaborative, scientifically excellent care – depends on seeing each other’s humanity. The humanity of the patients we care for, and our own humanity, which has frequently been neglected through the difficult, seemingly endless hours of this pandemic. Without humanism, without deep understanding and respect for each other, we all suffer. Our mental health is at stake. Our connection to each other is at risk.
The Gold Humanism Honor Society’s latest initiative is a call to reinforce our essential humanism and humanity. “Healing the Heart of Healthcare: Reimagining How We Listen, Connect, and Collaborate” is a multi-year initiative designed to continue creating the change that true humanistic healthcare requires.
We encourage your work in this initiative to lean on the power of community building, storytelling and health-related narratives (art, music, film, writing, dance, etc.), mentorship programs (doctors and educators to medical students, but also students to their docs!), and more. Through these projects, we hope to fortify our relationships, highlight a variety of perspectives across the continuum of healthcare, and gaze forward to a brighter future.
Learn more about the Healing the Heart of Healthcare International Initiative. You can also hear thoughts from GHHS leaders in this episode of the Gold Connection podcast.
Live sessions for our Healing the Heart of Healthcare Conference were held May 5-7.
International Chapter Pilot
Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) is pleased to announce that three chapters from around the world have joined the over 160 existing GHHS chapters. These schools were chosen in 2019 as part of a three-year pilot project to expand GHHS internationally.
We are now beginning the rigorous pre-application phase of our search for THREE additional international chapters to be approved in 2020.
To learn more about this pilot, please click here.
To complete a pre-application, please click here.
A designation of compassion
The Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) recognizes students, residents and faculty who are exemplars of compassionate patient care and who serve as role models, mentors, and leaders in medicine. GHHS members are peer nominated and are the ones whom others say they want taking care of their own family.
The Society currently has over 45,000 members in training and practice.
Spreading empathy
Membership in GHHS goes beyond selection and induction into an honor society. Its members have a responsibility to model, support, and advocate for compassionate, patient-centered care throughout their careers. The creation of a GHHS chapter signifies to the medical community that an institution places high value on the interpersonal skills and attitudes that are essential for the highest level of patient care.
“The state of healthcare is quite challenging out there. GHHS is a reminder that despite the obstacles, this is all about treating people and all about the patient care. GHHS and the Gold Foundation inoculates you against a lot of those obstacles and provides you with some strength to confront all of that.” — Dr. Scott Shaffer, Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University
Benefits of GHHS membership
With the support of the Gold Foundation and GHHS Supporters, GHHS funds educational events, supports research, promotes professional growth and creates opportunities for GHHS members to network with others who share their values and beliefs.
Benefits include:
- International recognition of humanistic achievement
- Special recognition on the ERAS residency application form
- Leadership development opportunities
- Chapter awards and grants
- Networking and mentoring connections
- Professional conferences, lectures, and workshops
- Resources to promote humanistic care in their community
History & early support
Inspiration for GHHS came from medical educators and residency program directors who expressed a need for a way to identify applicants to residency training programs who had outstanding clinical and interpersonal skills.
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Berrie Foundation, and an anonymous donor gave generously to launch GHHS. We are grateful for their crucial support.
Since its inception in 2002, GHHS has grown in influence to become a vital part of medical school and residency training program cultures throughout the US.
In 2012, we celebrated 10 years of GHHS:
In 2016, a GHHS identifier was placed on the Electronic Residency application making it clear that GHHS membership was something institutions advisors looked for in residency applicants. The power of GHHS lies in bringing together like-minded individuals to sustain their own humanism and to inspire and nurture humanism in others.
“It is hardest to practice the values of empathy and compassion when I am behind on my schedule, when multiple patients are waiting, and I feel pressure to rush. Physicians that do it best are the ones that are able to focus on each individual patient in the moment and temporarily forget the factors outside the room that discourage compassion.” – 4th year medical student and GHHS Member
With the support of the the Gold Foundation and GHHS Supporters, GHHS funds educational events, supports research, promotes professional growth and creates opportunities for GHHS members to network with others who share their values and beliefs.