title: Gold Humanism Honor Society Election and Academic Outcomes: A 10-Institution Study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study examines relationships among election to the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) and election to Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA), class rank, and residency selection to determine if GHHS members are more likely to select primary care residencies than students not elected to GHHS membership.
  
  
  METHODS
  We evaluated five graduating classes (2006--2010) at 10 medical schools (n=5,481 students). Residency selections were grouped into primary care (family medicine, internal medicine, pediatrics, OB-GYN), surgery (including surgical specialties), or E-ROAD and other (including lifestyle practices-emergency medicine, radiology, ophthalmology, anesthesiology, and dermatology plus all other specialties, eg, neurology, pathology).
  
  
  RESULTS
  A higher proportion of GHHS members were attracted to primary care compared to non-GHHS members (54.3% versus 44.5%). Additional comparisons between GHHS and non-GHHS members demonstrated that 33.1% of GHHS members matched into E-ROAD and other residencies, while 40.9% of non-GHHS went into one of these specialties. Fewer GHHS members chose general surgery or a surgical sub-specialty (12.6% versus 14.6%). More GHHS members were elected into AOA (30.3% versus 14.0%). Further, a far greater proportion of dual AOA/GHHS members elect family medicine residency versus AOA members not elected to GHHS. In addition, GHHS members had slightly higher mean scores on USMLE Step 1 and 2 CK (Clinical Knowledge) and mean class rank.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study demonstrates that students elected into the GHHS as an aggregate group tend to be academically higher achieving when compared to their non-GHHS peers and gravitate to a higher degree toward primary care and specifically to family medicine.
authors.affiliation: Morsani College of Medicine, University of South Florida.
authors.forename: Steven
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Specter
authors.forename: Marc J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Kahn
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lazarus
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Prislin
authors.forename: Jeffrey G
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: O'Donnell
authors.forename: Wayne T
authors.initials: WT
authors.lastname: McCormack
authors.forename: Michael G
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Kavan
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: House
mesh_terms: D000124:Achievement; D002321:Career Choice; D004522:Educational Status; D006801:Humans; D011320:Primary Health Care; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014481:United States