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Inaugural Gold Humanism Honor Society members inducted

New chapter welcomes fourth-year medical students and their chosen mentors

  GHHS induction pinning
  Waldo Zamor is pinned by Linda Sagor, as (l to r) Kathy Alvarez, Hugh Silk and David Clive look on. 

Twenty members of the School of Medicine Class of 2015 were inducted into the new UMass Medical School Gold Humanism Honor Society chapter on Sept. 19. These students were nominated by their classmates and mentors as exemplars of compassionate patient-centered care. Also inducted were residents and faculty members selected by the student inductees.

The society is a signature program of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, an international non-profit organization committed to fostering and maintaining a culture of compassion, caring and respect in health care. UMMS applied for and was granted permission to launch a chapter earlier this year.

The honor society recognizes students, residents and faculty who practice “patient-centered care by modeling the qualities of integrity, excellence, compassion, altruism, respect and empathy.” The Gold Foundation also designed the White Coat Ceremony, which has become an important and beloved ritual for first-year medical students and their families.

Elizabeth Gaufberg, MD, MPH, director of the Gold Foundation Research Institute, gave the keynote address at the induction ceremony. Dr. Gaufberg is a national leader in humanism research. She reminded the new honor society members that as soon as they became medical students, they became part of the medical culture and that their actions become part of the system. She urged them to maintain their humanism in their practice by seeing the uniqueness in everyone; being supportive of each other; apologizing and forgiving; being self-compassionate; and rooting their “doctor identities” in their human identities.

UMMS leaders and mentors also took part in the induction, with School of Medicine Dean Terence R. Flotte delivering opening remarks; Suzana Makowski, MD, assistant professor of medicine, introducing the keynote speaker; Michael Ennis, MD, clinical professor of family medicine & community health, overseeing the pinning ceremony; and Chancellor Michael F. Collins offering closing remarks. David Clive, MD, professor of medicine; Linda Sagor, MD, MPH, clinical professor of pediatrics; and Hugh Silk, MD, clinical associate professor of family medicine & community health, all previous recipients of the Gold Foundation Leonard Tow Humanism Award, served as pinners.

Gold Humanism Honor Society student inductees:

Reem Abu-Libdeh

Anne Barnard

Vitaliy Belyshev

Lorena Ceci

Madeline Fiore

Nathan Garvin

Chelsea Harris

Sydney Hartman

Caitlin Lawrence

Hung Le

Daniel Maselli

Melinda Palma

Jonathan Paolino

Jennifer Perez

Andrew Piper

Emily Tsanotelis

Benjamin Vaughan

Shu Yang

Waldo Zamor

Gina Zarella

 

Gold Humanism Honor Society faculty and resident inductees:

Minakshi Biswas, MD

William “Jerry” Durbin Jr., MD

Mark Fitzgerald, MD

Stephen Gallant, MD

Steven Hatch, MD

Amy Pratt, DO

Kyle Schoppel, MD

Brian Skehan, MD, PhD

 

Related links on UMassMedNow:
New UMMS Gold Humanism Honor Society chapter to honor the ‘art of medicine’
First-year medical students don symbol of their profession at joyous celebration