Alpha Omega Alpha is the national medical honor society. It was founded in 1902 by William Webster Root and five fellow students at the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Chicago. At the time that William Root and his colleagues founded the organization, they were distressed at the “rowdiness, boorishness, and low educational ideals” of many of their fellow students. To address these concerns, Root and the other students proposed a medical honor society dedicated to encouraging the highest standards of scholarship, integrity and service to patients. The purpose of AΩA was intended to recognize scholarship and high moral standards and encourage students to be “worthy to serve the suffering,” the society’s motto.
The society’s mission statement is:
“Alpha Omega Alpha — dedicated to the belief that in the profession of medicine we will improve care for all by:
- recognizing high educational achievement;
- honoring gifted teaching;
- encouraging the development of leaders in academia and the community;
- supporting the ideals of humanism; and promoting service to others.”