I was recently inducted into Alpha Omega Alpha, the national medical honor society. The plaque arrived in the mail and I sat with it for a while before hanging it up.

The plaque from my induction into Alpha Omega Alpha

What AOA is

Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) was founded in 1902 at the College of Medicine of the University of Illinois. It's the only national medical honor society in the United States. Membership is granted to medical students, residents, fellows, faculty, and alumni who are recognized for academic excellence, professionalism, leadership, and a commitment to service.

The society's motto is "Be worthy to serve the suffering." That line has stuck with me more than the rest of it. It's not about being the smartest person in the room. It's about earning the right to take care of people during the hardest moments of their lives.

AOA chapters at medical schools and residency programs nominate members each year. Selection is competitive, but the criteria go beyond grades and test scores. Character, leadership, and service to the profession all factor in. The society also funds research grants, fellowships, and visiting professorships, and publishes The Pharos, a quarterly journal on medicine, history, and the humanities.

What it means to me

I won't pretend induction into a society fixes the hard parts of training. The bad calls, the patients you couldn't save, the discharge summaries you write at 9 PM - none of that goes away because someone hands you a plaque.

But I'll be honest. It meant something to be recognized. My path to medicine wasn't a straight line, and there were stretches where I wasn't sure I belonged in the room. Being selected by colleagues and mentors who've watched me work was a quiet kind of validation.

More than that, the motto sits with me. Be worthy to serve the suffering. It's a high bar, and it's one that has to be earned again every shift, every patient, every conversation with a family. The plaque on the wall is a reminder, not a finish line.

Moving forward

I'm grateful to the SGMC Health Internal Medicine Residency program, the attendings who taught me, and the colleagues who nominated me. AOA membership is for life, and I want to use it the way it's intended. To stay involved in the profession, to mentor those coming up behind me, and to keep showing up for patients in the way the motto asks.

The plaque is on the wall now. The work continues.