Student Awards

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Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA)

For additional information about the Alpha Omega Alpha (AOA) Honor Society, please visit the dedicated AOA page. 

Gold Humanism Honor Society

The mission of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) is to recognize individuals, nominated by their peers, as exemplars of humanistic patient care and who can serve as role models, mentors, and leaders in medicine.  The GHHS’ goal is to promote humanistic values and behaviors in medicine. Members of the society are committed to working within and beyond medical education to inspire, nurture and sustain lifelong advocates and activists for patient-centered care.

The GHHS Selection Committee consists of members of leadership of the Zucker School of Medicine, faculty members and additional administrative staff. (In the future, the Committee may choose to add GHHS members to this Selection Committee.) After compiling data from the GHHS nominee questionnaire, the students in the top 20-25% of the class will be evaluated for academic standing. Second, the eligible students will be presented to the Selection Committee. Student candidates will be evaluated based on their questionnaire results, data from their CVs, and comments from formative and summative evaluations throughout the four years of their medical education. The Selection Committee will then select up to 15% of the class to be recognized as a part of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. After the final decision, students will be notified by the Office of Student Affairs and it will be announced to the Zucker School of Medicine community.

For additional information, please contact the Office of Student Affairs. 

Graduation with Distinction in Community Engagement

The purpose of the honorific award of Graduation with Distinction in Community Engagement is to recognize students at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine who have made significant impact in the community and progress toward a career as a social justice advocate. Distinction means that the work was community-informed and carried out in collaboration with and through the community itself. Impact is defined as the likelihood for the project to have a measurable, sustained, powerful influence on promoting the health and well-being of the community. Read More

Graduation with Distinction in Research

Students who have completed a significant piece of scholarly work are eligible for graduation with Distinction in Research. A subcommittee of the Student Advancement Committee determines whether a particular student will graduate with this honor. The annual Scholarship Day's program includes recognition of those graduating with Distinction in Research. Read More

Each year, representatives from Northwell Health and the Zucker School of Medicine nominate students who are eligible for internal awards. Nominees are brought to the Dean of the Zucker School of Medicine, who selects students to receive these honors. Graduation and Departmental Awards are presented at a small ceremony before Commencement Day.

Departmental Awards

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during anesthesia rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Anesthesia.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during cardiology rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Cardiology.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during emergency medicine rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Emergency Medicine.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during family medicine rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Family Medicine.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during medicine rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Internal Medicine.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during neurology rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Neurology.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during pediatrics rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Pediatrics.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during radiology rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Radiology.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who demonstrates a commitment to medical education by identifying an educational need that serves the greater community of learners and who follows through with professionalism, creativity, and a desire to innovate. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Science Education.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during surgery rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Surgery.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who excels during urology rotations in the Second 100 Weeks. A recommendation is made by the Chair of Urology.

Graduation Awards

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who demonstrates academic excellence and exemplifies what it is to be a future physician leader. This award is chosen by the Dean of the Zucker School of Medicine.

This honor is awarded annually to a graduating medical student who displayed outstanding overall performance throughout undergraduate medical education.

This honor is awarded to a fourth-year student who has played an active part as a Student Council member for the majority of their time at medical school. A recommendation is made by the president of the Faculty Council for this award.

This honor is awarded annually in memory of Branson Sparks, a member of the inaugural class, who passed away prior to his own graduation yet left an indelible impression on the Zucker SOM. Presented to a graduating medical student who possesses his intangible qualities of common sense, thoughtfulness, compassion, personal warmth, gentleness, and community.

This honor is awarded to a graduating medical student who has worked diligently to increase diversity and inclusion in medicine within the ZSOM community and has acted to create and support an environment where diversity and inclusion are valued.

This honor is awarded by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award recognizes graduating medical students who are exemplars of humanism in the care of patients.

This honor is awarded to a graduating medical student who exemplifies physicianship as a socially responsible human service profession and has demonstrated engagement in and commitment to deconstructing and mitigating bias.

This honor is awarded to a graduating medical student who has contributed to the advancement of women leaders in medicine and science and gender equity in academic medicine and has a proven record of advocating for the advancement of women leaders and enhancing the professional environment for women in medicine and science.

External Honors

During time in medical school, the Office of Student Affairs encourages students to take advantage of external opportunities that relate to long-term goals and interests. In the interest of celebrating student accomplishments, below are a few of the external awards received by students.