WVU School of Medicine announces GHHS inductees for Spring 2021

The West Virginia University School of Medicine announced the most recent inductees into the Gold Humanism Honor Society in a virtual ceremony that took place on Saturday, June 5.

GHHS is a national honor society that honors senior medical students, residents, role-model physician teachers and other exemplars recognized for demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service. It was founded by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation for Humanism in Medicine.

Georgia Vasilakis, who has been picked as the incoming president from the M.D. Class of 2022, emphasized the increasing role that physicians play in enhancing the quality of care for their patients.

“I am continually humbled to represent this year’s delightful GHHS cohort as the chapter President, as they truly best exemplify what it means to carry out our duty for humanity,” Vasilakis said. “In our careers, we’ll see significant breakthroughs and new treatments, but we must continue to stick to compassionate and humanistic patient care. It’s not only our duty, but it should be embodied at the very core of who we are as members of the medical community.”

Other inductees from the MD Class of 2022 include: Sara Berzinig, Eric Bonar, Natalie Green, Ahmed Haque, Arin Jennings, Zachary Koenig, Sundus Lateef, Grayson Mast, Nathan Mauck, Paige McCaleb, Bradley Owens, Kathryn Robinson, Levi Snedegar, and Katherine Webster.

Resident inductees include Loren Custer, M.D., and Kylie Fuller, M.D., while faculty inductees include Beth Emrick, M.D., and Jeff Lancaster, M.D.

The organization is active throughout the year, with events that encourage those physicians who came before them and those that will come after them. Examples include spearheading Thank a Resident Day and giving feedback to first-year medical students on connecting to patients through better communication skills to take better medical histories during examinations.

GHHS also organizes GHHS Week, a series of lunch lectures with speakers who offer unique perspectives on improving patient care through a humanistic approach.