Welcome to the Beta Tennessee Chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha (AΩA) Honor Medical Society. The history of AΩA dates back to 1902 when six medical students attending the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago in response to their concerns about the prevailing non-professional image of medical students sought the means to foster honesty and higher ideals of scholastic achievement. These pursuits came during a time when medical schools were located in storefronts, tenements and warehouses, and when a mere microscope or two, some moldy slides, and a lonely skeleton were the only instruments. A time when the medical curriculum itself consisted of a series of lectures, sometimes supplemented by demonstrations at one's beside or, if available, in the laboratory. The leading founder, William Webster Root, modeled the society after Phi Beta Kappa. Growth of AΩA chapters paralleled that of American medical schools and today there are 124 active Chapters. Our state of Tennessee boasts a total of four Chapters: Vanderbilt University (Alpha; 1923), the University of Tennessee HSC (Beta; 1941), Meharry Medical College (Gamma, 1957), and East Tennessee State University (Delta; 1985).
Eligibility
Individuals eligible to be elected to Alpha Omega Alpha (Article II. MEMBERSHIP AND AIMS Section 1) include:
Medical students who have excelled academically and have shown promise of becoming leaders in the profession.
Physicians (residents or fellows, faculty, and alumni/alumnae ) who later have demonstrated such leadership.
Physicians or scientists who have attained distinction in any worthy line of endeavor and are not eligible for election by any other means. These individuals are elected by the Board of Directors as honorary members.
Selection Process
Selection for membership is the same as it was in 1902. Students who are in the top quartile of the graduating class are considered for membership based on a consideration of the additional qualities of scholarship, leadership, fairness in dealing with colleagues, compassion, integrity and service to the school and community at large. The mission statement states that: "AΩA is committed to being a rising voice for professionalism, to recognizing the importance of optimal patient care, and to emphasizing the need for continuing scholarship and academic achievements."
In concert with the selection criteria set forth by the AΩA Constitution, up to one-sixth of the projected number of students graduating will be identified. The Councilor and the AΩA Selection Committee will meet in confidence to select students for membership. A Chapter may elect up to half of that one-sixth of the students in the Spring of the third year, and the remainder at any time from the Fall of the fourth year until graduation. Here at the University of Tennessee HSC, the selection process takes place in early Spring (February) to select the third year students, and in early Fall (September) to select the fourth year students.
Once eligibility has been determined, the Office of Student Affairs will notify those students being considered for membership. These students will be asked to provide the Office with a copy of their curriculum vitae [see sample] outlining their achievements and demonstrated professionalism. Additionally, each will be asked to complete a brief questionnaire. This information will then be forwarded to the Committee for review. Following each selection process (Spring and Fall), all students being considered will be notified in writing as to the outcome of the selection process.
Additionally, a Chapter may elect each year up to three residents/fellows to membership and one or two faculty members. These individuals are expected to be selected by a caucus of student members of the society at some time before the induction ceremony during the senior year. With input from faculty members and the Office of the Dean, one or two alumni/alumnae may be elected each year as well.
As with all true honors, the honor of AΩA membership is accompanied by the responsibility to sustain the vision and goals of the society:
Professionalism - To hold the conviction that professionalism in medicine is a worthy goal.
Scholarship - To promote scholarship among medical professionals.
Leadership - To set an example worth emulating.
Service - To serve the medical profession and the community.
Membership Dues
The Society is organized for educational purposes exclusively and not for profit, and its aims shall be in the promotion of scholarship and research in medical schools, the encouragement of a high standard of character and conduct among medical students and graduates, and the recognition of high attainment in medical science, patient care, and related fields.
National Membership Dues
Members of Alpha Omega Alpha have both opportunities and responsibilities to the profession and to our society. The Society must help maintain excellence of scholarship in medicine and nurture high ethical principles in our profession. AΩA is working to achieve these goals through providing increased support to our 124 chapters and several other activities. Your financial support enables us to underwrite medical student service projects, student research awards, a student essay competition, visiting professorships, and volunteer community faculty teaching awards. The Pharos, and the Robert J. Glaser Distinguished Teacher Awards, presented annually in conjunction with the Association of American Medical Colleges, emphasize the professional qualities and the importance of teaching and scholarship to all in our profession. National membership dues are renewed each year or can be paid as a lifetime membership. For additional information regarding national AΩA membership dues, please visit the Alpha Omega Alpha website.
Students nominated for election to AΩA will register and pay dues for the first year online at http://www.alphaomegaalpha.org. This new process of dues payment directly to the national office ensures that standard set out by the AΩA constitution which states: "Elected candidates may only be inducted into the Society after the membership fees to the national and the local chapter have been paid." In the unlikely event that a nominated student does not wish to register and pay dues, the chapter will have the right to withdraw his/her name and select another student for membership in AΩA from the eligible pool of applicants.
Chapter Membership Dues
Each AΩA chapter is self-supporting and depends entirely on local Chapter membership dues to pay for honoraria and travel expenses for speakers, pins, certificates, and banquet meals for the student, alumni, faculty and housestaff initiates as well as for mailings, postage, the AΩA Graduation Award, and administrative support. Chapter membership dues are renewed each year in the spring at a level of $35.00 for members > 10 years post graduation, and $25.00 for members ≤ 10 years post graduation.
As AΩA is a non-profit organization, Chapter dues as well as national dues and other contributions/donations are tax deductible.
Members of the Society may join the activities of the Chapter nearest to the location of their continued professional activity by contacting the Councilor of that Chapter. Members not residing near a Chapter may become affiliated with an Association or help in the founding of an Association (AΩA Constitution:Section 7). If you would like to transfer your current membership to the Beta Tennessee Chapter, please complete and return the following AΩA Membership Information Card [113KB] along with your membership fees to:
Deborah D. Hester
Program Coordinator, Office of Student Affairs
910 Madison Avenue, Room 406
Memphis, Tennessee 38163
Chapter Contact Information
Contact for the Beta Tennessee Chapter is welcomed using your telephone and/or fax, by US mail, and by sending an Email to the following:
Last updated: March 9, 2007 To report problems with this page, call Debbey Hester, (901) 448-5531 An EEO/AA/Title VI/Title IX/Section 504/ADA/ADEA employer
"The University of Tennessee, College of Medicine has its roots in Nashville as the Nashville Medical College. That college as organized in 1876, and in 1879 was acquired by the University of Tennessee as its medical department. The Memphis Hospital Medical College was also found in 1876 but, because of the yellow fever epidemic in Memphis, did not actually hold classes until 1880. In 1909 two Nashville schools merged and were operating as the joint Medical department of the University of Nashville and the University of Tennessee. It moved to Memphis in 1911 and merged with the College of Physicians and Surgeons to become the University of Tennessee, College of Medicine... "
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