Gold Humanism Honor Society
The University of Nebraska School of Medicine Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) was founded in 2015 with support from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The UNMC chapter is part of the greater national GHHS organization that recognizes and supports humanistic exemplars in medicine. The inaugural class of medical students, residents, and faculty was elected and inducted in Spring 2015 and all joined together with the common aim of instilling a culture of respect, dignity, and compassion for patients and professionals at UNMC.
Being a member of GHHS is a significant honor and GHHS status is recognized [by residency Program Directors] as comparable to selection into other medical honor societies such as Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA).
The mission of the Gold Humanism Honor Society at the University of Nebraska Medical Center is to model, support, and advocate for humanism in medicine. We will pursue our mission through fostering compassionate patient-centered care, cultivating student-resident-faculty relationships, and providing student and physician outreach opportunities for the betterment of patients’ lives. We will recognize and award students, residents, and faculty who embody humanistic principles in their profession now, with the goal of continuing to nurture and support these principles throughout their future careers.
Humanism in health care is characterized by a respectful and compassionate relationship between physicians, as well as all other members of the healthcare team, and their patients. It reflects attitudes and behaviors that are sensitive to the values and the cultural and ethnic backgrounds of others. The humanistic healthcare professional demonstrates the following attributes (“I.E., C.A.R.E.S.”):
- Integrity: the congruence between expressed values and behavior
- Excellence: clinical expertise
- Compassion: the awareness and acknowledgement of the suffering of another and the desire to relieve it
- Altruism: the capacity to put the needs and interests of another before your own
- Respect: the regard for the autonomy and values of another person
- Empathy: the ability to put oneself in another’s situation, e.g., physician as patient
- Service: the sharing of one’s talent, time and resources with those in need; giving beyond what is required.
Each Spring, medical students are asked to nominate their peers and residents for induction into the UNMC Chapter of GHHS. Students who receive the top 20% of votes are asked to send in a Curriculum Vitae and complete an essay answering the following questions:
- How do you exemplify the characteristics of the GHHS (provide examples)?
- If you are selected to be a member of GHHS, how will you help to promote compassionate, patient-centered care at our institution?
Based on the CV and personal essays, selection committee members make the final determination regarding membership into the GHHS UNMC Chapter. A formal induction ceremony is held in the Spring and includes the traditional pinning ceremony.
Chapter Activities
Emotionally supporting a patient during their most difficult of times will always be an aspect of being a physician. This is an enormous honor, but can also take a toll on health care providers. On the other hand, experiencing powerful and uplifting moments in the hospital or clinic is also an aspect of being a physician. In order to help improve resiliency, we host a weekly journal club. These sessions start with a prompt given by Dr. Bud Shaw. Students take some time to write a response then share their writing with a group of students that may be dealing with similar situations. These sessions are a safe place for students to share burdens or difficulties they may face. It is our hope that through writing we can learn to better take care of our patients and ourselves. If interested or for more information, contact: ghhs@unmc.edu
The COVID-19 pandemic has led to many lonely days for patients at hospitals because of visitor restrictions. The members of GHHS were looking for ways to remain helpful in the medical field and in our local community during these difficult times, so we developed a Pen Pal Program for patients at UNMC. The students write their well wishes to patients that may be facing difficulties and have them delivered every month. Patients have the option to write back to the students if they wish to keep the conversation going. We hope that these letters will help bring some joy into patients’ lives during these trying times. Contact ghhs@unmc.edu if interested in more information
Several times a year, we organize dinners hosted by interested faculty for students. We aim to bring together medical students, residents, and faculty in an effort to combat the compassion-fatigue that can develop in the process of our education, training, and careers. It is our hope that these dinners will be a forum through which we can discuss our experiences, give and receive advice, and support our fellow students and colleagues in every level of professional training. By supporting and growing with each other, we also mold each other into positive, compassionate people who prioritize advocacy for patients. Groups will be limited in size in order to preserve a sense of camaraderie and familiarity amongst attendees. Contact ghhs@unmc.edu if interested in more information.
The hospital is filled with a diverse array of patients. Some rooms are filled with family and friends, cards and pictures, balloons and flowers. Other rooms, unfortunately, remain empty. The goal of Sunday Rounds is to tend to these patients. We gather a group of volunteers to visit these patients, whether virtually or in person, twice monthly. This gives us the opportunity to listen, talk, and support these patients. Our hope is that a short visit from us will bring them some joy. One of the goals of GHHS is to foster compassionate, patient-centered care; we believe that visiting patients for the sole purpose of hearing how they are doing is a large step towards this goal. This project also gives students the opportunity to experience patient interaction early in their medical careers while providing patients with a much needed respite from the constant discussion of only their medical woes. Students from all four years of medical school are welcome and encouraged to participate in this project whenever they are able. If interested or for more information, please contact: ghhs@unmc.edu
Each year, a member of our group gives a speech at the White Coat Ceremony for incoming first year medical students emphasizing the importance of being compassionate when caring for patients. Each student also receives a letter written by us and a Gold Humanism pin for their white coats. This will serve as a reminder to continue to practice patient-centered care. Our goal is to instill the importance of patient-centered care early on in order to keep pushing students to be the best they can be for their patients.
GHHS Leadership and Membership
Leadership |
|
| President: Weston Ernst | Vice President: Laura Flores |
| Treasurer: Safwan Elkhatib | Secretary: Alex Hergenrader |
Medical Students |
|
| Nicole Beckman | Caroline Spethman |
|
Nicole Kent |
Sarah Sweeney |
|
Bo Kitrell |
Maranda Thompson |
| Sarah Mullen | Katie Vanderzwaag |
| Rose Nelson | Lauren Wegner |
| Carmen Ochoa | Tazah Weinmaster |
| Stacie Schlange | Anna Wilwerding |
| Osmaan Shokoor | Jill Ziegenbein |
| Brian Smith | |
Residents |
|
| Anna Adamson, MD | Jennifer Luedders, MD |
| Rees Adomako, DO | Maxwell Lydiatt, MD |
| Geoffrey Allison, MD | Gerson Manriquez Martinez, MD |
| Hannah Artz, MD | Kelli Mans, MD |
| Jared Baxter, MD | Haley Mathews, MD |
| Katie Berky, MD | Philip McCarthy, DO |
| Jana Binkley, MD | Samantha McGirr, MD |
| Mollie Brittan, MD | Frank Mezzacappa, MD |
| Justin Burr, MD | Andrew Nguyen, MD |
| Caleb Cave, MD | Joe Pachunka, MD |
| Cason Christensen, MD | Elsa Parr, MD |
| Dallin Christensen, MD | Jeremy Payne, MD |
| Madeline Cloonan, MD | Abby Riese, MD |
| Matthew Dorwart, MD | Evan Ryan, MD |
| Amy Dreessen, MD | RemyGrace Sass, MD |
| James Fagerland, MD | Blaine Schlawin, DO |
| Matthew Freeman, MD | Sophia Schneider, MD |
| Kassondra Frith, DO | Hannah Siel, MD |
| Katelyn Haiar, MD | Alexandra Sorrick, MD |
| Kurtis Johnson, MD | Jeffrey Wallman, MD |
| Nora Kovar, MD | Brett Van Briggle, MD |
| Terrance Kumar, MD | Nathan Van Winkle, MD |
| Joshua Lallman, MD | Debra Wekesa, MD |
| Raquel Lamarche, MD | Nicholas Yeutter, MD |
| Shelby Liesemeyer, MD | Emily Zurbuchen, MD |
Faculty |
|
| Allison Ashford, MD Faculty Adviser | Lynn Mack, MD |
| Trek Langenhan, MD Faculty Adviser | Arun (Chetaj) Mahabir, MD |
| Nate Anderson, MD | Elizabeth Mahal, MD |
| Sara Bares, MD | Katie Maliszewski, MD |
| Cody Bonk, MD | Jasmine Marcelin, MD |
| Stephen Brannan, MD | David Mercer, MD, PhD |
| Kelsie Cabrera, DO | Ryan Mullane, MD |
| Erin Cameron-Smith, MD | Alisha Nabower, MD |
| Don Coulter, MD | Ramzy Nakad, MD |
| Laura Cudzilo-Kelsey, MD | Chelsea Navarrette, MD |
| Robert Cusick, MD | Amy Neumeister, MD |
| Mathew Day, MD | David O’Dell, MD |
| Kilie Donovan, MD | Prasanth Ravipati, MD |
| Steven Ebers, MD | Adam Reinhardt, MD |
| Bryant England, MD, PhD | Sarah Richards, MD |
| Charity Evans, MD | Kerry Rodabaugh, MD |
| Nada Fadul, MBBS | Deb Romberger, MD |
| Wendy Grant, MD | Khalid Sahak, MD |
| Karisa Hajek, MD | Ashish Sharma, MD |
| Cynthia Hernandez, MD | Byers (Bud) W. Shaw, Jr., MD |
| Rachel Johnson, MD | Stephanie Sutton, MD |
| Andrea Jones, MD | Diego Torres-Russotto, MD |
| William Lyons, MD | TJ Welniak, MD |
| Riley Machal, MD | Jill Zabih, MD |