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Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS): Selection, ERAS and AOA
The Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) recognizes medical students, residents and faculty for compassionate patient care. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation started it in 2002, members are nominated by their peers, and the Foundation says it now has more than 180 chapters and more than 50,000 members. Students are often chosen in third year.
Below is how selection works, using two schools' published processes as examples, how GHHS appears on ERAS, how it compares with Alpha Omega Alpha, and what to do either way. Every fact links to the Gold Foundation, the school or the society it came from, checked November 3, 2026.
What is the Gold Humanism Honor Society?
GHHS is the honor society of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, founded in 1988 to support humanism in healthcare, which the Foundation defines as clinically excellent care that is kind, safe and trustworthy. The society was created in 2002 to recognize people who show integrity, excellence, altruism, respect and empathy. In the Foundation's words, members are the ones whom others say they want taking care of their own family.
Chapters sit in medical schools and residency programs. Chapters induct medical students each year and can also add residents and faculty.
How are students selected for GHHS?
Each chapter runs its own process within the national guidelines. Two schools publish theirs in detail, UT Southwestern and the University of New Mexico, and they follow the same four steps.
| Step | What happens |
|---|---|
| Peer nomination, usually in third year | What happens: Classmates nominate the people they have watched care for patients. At UNM this happens in the spring of third year. Self-nomination and campaigning disqualify you at UT Southwestern. |
| A shortlist writes an application | What happens: UT Southwestern's page says GHHS bylaws let no more than 25% of a class apply. At UNM, the top 25% of nominees write an essay for anonymous review. UT Southwestern's file adds nomination comments, clerkship evaluation comments, an abbreviated CV and an essay. |
| A faculty committee reviews | What happens: At UT Southwestern, three members of the selection committee score each application. Students with professionalism forms or conduct violations aren't considered. |
| Induction | What happens: Chapters may induct 10 to 15% of a class, plus four faculty members and up to six residents each year, per UT Southwestern's page citing the national guidelines. |
The six peer nomination questions UT Southwestern uses
UT Southwestern's nomination form comes from a survey developed at the University of Florida and validated across several schools. It asks classmates to name:
- Who you would want at your side in a medical emergency
- Who best shows that good patient care means caring for the patient
- Who has shown exceptional interest in serving their community
- Who would be the best choice for a highly desired residency
- Who you would want as the doctor for yourself or a loved one
- Who listens best to patients
Its page adds that the strongest nominations include several specific examples.
Our advice: how to be the classmate people nominate
- Be the student who stays to explain the plan to the family after rounds. Peers notice who does the unglamorous part.
- Help classmates on call and in study groups without keeping score.
- Pick one service commitment and keep it through clerkships, rather than collecting many short ones.
- Never ask anyone to nominate you. It is the fastest way out at the schools that publish their rules.
How does GHHS show on your residency application?
The MyERAS application has its own status field for it. The 2027 MyERAS user guide asks applicants to show their status in the Gold Humanism Honor Society, in Alpha Omega Alpha (MD applicants only) and in Sigma Sigma Phi (DO applicants only). The GHHS identifier was first added for the 2016 ERAS application, and the Foundation lists special recognition on ERAS among the benefits of membership.
List it once in that field and once under honors on your CV, as our residency CV guide shows. If the project you led as a member mattered to you, it can be one of your ERAS experiences too.
What is the difference between GHHS and AOA?
Alpha Omega Alpha is the older national medical honor society. GHHS is narrower, centered on how you treat patients, and starts with your classmates' nominations.
| GHHS | AOA | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | GHHS: 2002, by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation | AOA: 1902 |
| What it recognizes | GHHS: Compassionate, humanistic patient care | AOA: Professionalism, leadership, scholarship, research and service |
| How it starts | GHHS: Your classmates' nominations | AOA: Election through a school chapter |
| Size | GHHS: More than 180 chapters | AOA: 138 chapters |
| On MyERAS | GHHS: Its own status field, no MD or DO limit | AOA: Its own status field, MD applicants only |
The two aren't exclusive, and MyERAS has a separate field for each. If you have both, list both.
What do GHHS members do?
Chapters run projects, and the national society hosts events open to everyone, including Solidarity Week for Compassionate Care and Thank a Resident Day. Solidarity Week falls around Valentine's Day each year. In 2027 it runs Monday, February 8 to Friday, February 12.
What if you weren't selected for GHHS?
Most students aren't, since chapters can induct only about 10 to 15% of a class. Programs read the whole application, and the same qualities show up elsewhere: in your letters, your MSPE comments and the way you talk about patients in interviews. One clear patient story, told well, does much of the same work.
Practice question
“Tell me about a time you showed compassion to a patient.”
GHHS members get it often, because the honor invites it, and everyone else gets it too. Pick one patient, show what you noticed that others missed, say what you did, and end with what it changed in how you practice.
Example answer written by Confetto (the applicant is invented)
On my medicine rotation I cared for an older man admitted for heart failure who kept refusing his evening diuretic. The team saw it as noncompliance. I sat with him one night and learned he was afraid of getting up to the bathroom alone in the dark, because he had fallen at home.
I asked the nurses about a bedside commode and moving the dose to the early afternoon, and the team agreed. He took every dose after that. Since then, when a patient says no, I ask what they are afraid of before I explain why the medicine matters.
Sources: the Arnold P. Gold Foundation's GHHS, About GHHS, About Us, ERAS identifier and Solidarity Week pages, UT Southwestern's and UNM's GHHS selection pages, Alpha Omega Alpha's about page and the AAMC's 2027 MyERAS Applicant User Guide, checked November 3, 2026.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Gold Humanism Honor Society?
GHHS is an honor society created by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation in 2002 for students, residents and faculty recognized for compassionate patient care. Members are nominated by their peers. The Gold Foundation says it has more than 180 chapters and more than 50,000 members. See the Gold Foundation's GHHS page.
How do you get into GHHS?
Through your classmates. Chapters start with peer nominations, usually in third year, then a shortlist submits an application and a faculty committee decides. You can't nominate yourself, and at schools such as UT Southwestern, campaigning disqualifies you. See UT Southwestern's selection process.
What percentage of students get into GHHS?
Chapters may induct 10 to 15% of a medical school class each year, according to UT Southwestern's page citing the national guidelines. At UNM, the top 25% of nominees are invited to write an essay, and 10 to 15% of the class is inducted from that group. See UNM's GHHS page.
Does GHHS matter for residency?
It is visible to programs. The MyERAS application has a field for GHHS status, added for the 2016 season, and the Gold Foundation says GHHS membership is something advisors look for in residency applicants. Programs still read your whole application. Read the Gold Foundation's ERAS note.
What is the difference between GHHS and AOA?
Alpha Omega Alpha, founded in 1902, recognizes professionalism, leadership, scholarship, research and service, and MyERAS lists it for MD applicants only. GHHS, founded in 2002, recognizes humanistic patient care through peer nomination, and both MD and DO applicants can list it. See AOA's about page.