MA
Matthew Allred
  • Class of 2013
  • Bountiful, UT

Des Moines University recognizes Matthew Allred with induction into honor society

2012 Aug 2

Medical school isn't just about learning anatomy, biology, pharmacology and more. It's also learning how to care for patients as fellow human beings. It's learning interpersonal skills, compassion, ethics and leadership. Des Moines University has an entire department dedicated to teaching such skills. To emphasize just how much priority is placed on these attributes, the University is a proud chapter of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation's Gold Humanism Honor Society.

Thirty DMU student inductees for 2012 were honored at a July 11 ceremony, including Matthew Allred from Bountiful, UT, a D.O. student. Allred's parents are Gerald and June Allred from Bountiful, UT and his spouse Chrissy Allred.

Induction actually takes place before each term; students selected are between years three and four of their education. So this class, entering their fourth year, has one year of clinical clerkships under their belts. This is important because students' interaction with patients, colleagues and mentors during their third year is one of the ways they are identified as potential members of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.

"It is a distinct pleasure to welcome our new inductees into the Des Moines University chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS)," said Gary Hoff, D.O., faculty advisor for GHHS and chair of the Medical Humanities and Bioethics Department. "These new members have been nominated by their peers and faculty as representatives of the clinical acumen, dedication to the wider community and clear professionalism that all of us want our students to embody. As members of GHHS, these student physicians enter an elect group that will exemplify those traits for all of us, now and in the future."

The Gold Humanism Honor Society began in the late 1990s and is designed to honor senior medical students, residents, physician-teachers and others for "demonstrated excellence in clinical care, leadership, compassion and dedication to service," according to the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.

"Recognition of the astonishing depth and breadth of these young people's commitments to medicine and the community is one of the best ways to assure that the selfless efforts of these new colleagues will be emulated and continued," Dr. Hoff said. Only 92 of the more than 170 medical schools in this country have been approved by the sponsoring Arnold P. Gold Foundation to be GHHS chapters. DMU was approved in December 2007 as the second osteopathic school to be part of the Society. Part of the responsibility that comes with being a GHHS inductee is a charge to develop community- and service-related projects. The GHHS national office awards grants for innovative projects.

For more information about Des Moines University, please visit www.dmu.edu. For info about GHHS, visit www.humanism-in-medicine.org.

Photo available at https://dmu.wufoo.com/cabinet/s6k3s5/I1LwuBeAS92zmI%3D/mattallrednewspaper.jpg

Des Moines University is the only private medical school in Iowa, offering graduate-level, professional degree programs in osteopathic medicine, podiatric medicine, physical therapy, physician assistant studies, health care administration, anatomy, biomedical sciences and public health. Founded in 1898, the institution offers superior academics in a collaborative environment. DMU students' pass rate on national examinations and board certifications is consistently higher than the national average and the rates at similar institutions.