Gold Humanism Honor Society

Gold Humanism Honor Society

The Gold Humanism Honor Society is the heart of our Community of Caring. Founded in 2002, through the generous support of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, The Berrie Foundation, and an anonymous donor, GHHS now has more than 160 chapters in medical schools and residency programs. More than 35,000 medical students, physicians, and other leaders have been inducted and serve as role models of the human connection in healthcare.

Due to the ever-changing and unprecedented COVID-19 situation, please contact Director of Program Initiatives Louisa Tvito at ltvito@gold-foundation.org with any questions about Gold Humanism Honor Society inductions, other Gold Foundation programs or their status.

Contact our Staff:

GHHS Advisory Council is seeking Trainee nominations and applications

The GHHS Nominating Committee is is actively seeking up to two Trainees (Student, Resident, Fellow) who have a serious interest in the flourishing of humanism in healthcare through the Gold Humanism Honor Society to serve on the GHHS Advisory Council. The requirements for the Advisory Council members are as follows:

  • Members will serve a one year term starting May 1, 2020 (*term is renewable up to two times.)
  • Members should have prior involvement and experience with GHHS or  demonstrated interest in humanism in medicine activities
  • Members must attend four meetings each year: one face-to-face meeting (travel expenses will be compensated) and three phone conferences
  • Members are asked to serve on at least one Advisory Council Subcommittee which meets by phone monthly
The deadline for nominations is April 2, 2020 (To nominate someone, please click here)
The deadline for applications is April 6, 2020 (To apply, please click here)

National Initiatives

It’s time to start planning for your annual GHHS National Initiatives! Mark your calendar for these upcoming events:

Solidarity Week for Compassionate Patient Care – February 10-14, 2020
Solidarity Week for Compassionate Patient Care is a week-long recognition event. GHHS chapters, medical schools, and patient care institutions from across the country promote activities to celebrate their dedication to ensuring compassionate, patient-centered care.

Check out the 2020 celebrations HERE.

Thank a Resident Day – February 28, 2020
Residency is a key component of graduate medical training, offering an in-depth exposure to medical practice. It can often lead to long working hours matched with many responsibilities. Residents serve as the “house staff” of the hospital and are an integral part to the healthcare team, often serving as indispensable resources for medical students, especially during a clinical clerkship. Join the Gold Humanism Honor Society in bringing to light the importance of the residence staff and encourage medical students at chapters throughout the nation to show our gratitude and appreciation on February 28, 2020! Tell us about your plans HERE!  

Due to a last minute influx of orders we are unable to provide anymore stickers. We still encourage you to download the banner and share your plans. For those of you who have shared your plans we will be posting it on our social media page and our website.

Please visit us on our website and on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for updates.

Gold Humanism Summit

The Gold Foundation held its inaugural Gold Humanism Summit at the Planetree International Conference on Patient-Centered Care in Orlando, Florida, October 27-30, 2019, and what an incredible convening it turned out to be!

All of our communities gathered together to share research and present on the impact of humanism in healthcare, both in education/training and in all the places where care is delivered.

The four-day event began with a Pre-conference Symposium where the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) and Mapping the Landscape (MTL) grantees shared their findings and details about the work they’ve conducted in their communities.

To read more about the General Session and Gold Executive Track, click here.

Veterans Gold Health Initiative

The Veterans Gold Health Initiative began in 2018 as a Quality Improvement Project addresses healthcare disparities through the identification of veteran status and associated risk for unique employment-related illnesses.

If your chapter would like to share their 2020 plans or order stickers for the Veterans Gold Health Initiative, please click here.

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.

Golden Glimmers

Golden Glimmer Theme #4 was a call to restore joy in medicine! Members and friends of GHHS submitted Haiku to share how they were nurturing their own wellness, caring for themselves and their colleagues, celebrating moments of joy, or simply taking time to breathe! View the gallery 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 that others say they want taking care of their own family.

The Society currently has about 30,000 members in training and practice.

The Gold Humanism Honor Society is now seeking nominations and applications for position of Dean of Student Affairs on its Advisory Council. The Advisory Council provides leadership and guidance for the activities and affairs of the GHHS.

We are actively a seeking leader who has a serious interest in the flourishing of humanism in healthcare through the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

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:

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 APGF 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.