About AOA

Alpha Omega Alpha, or AOA, is a national medical honor society. As established by the national organization constitution, each chapter may select one-sixth of each class among academically eligible (top 25% GPA) junior and senior students. Once meeting this criteria, each candidate must prepare an application and then new members are chosen based upon academic, personal, and service criteria. The chapter may also select several housestaff, faculty, and alumni each year.

• Current members (Class of 2012 and Class of 2013)
• Recent alumni and their residencies

There are chapters of this national honor medical society, founded in 1902, at 125 U.S. medical schools and several Canadian schools. The Jefferson chapter, Pennsylvania Alpha, was founded in 1903, the 5th to be chartered and the 1st to be established on the East Coast. Our chapter strives to foster excellence in medicine through sponsoring 20-25 ongoing educational and service projects at Jefferson and in the community. Many of the projects may involve and most benefit all in the Jefferson community, not just those who are members of AOA. In recent years our chapter has remained among the most productive in the nation.

• National AOA site

AOA Guides

The Jefferson AOA also publishes a series of guides that have been written by former AOA members and updated each year by new members. Our purpose with all of the following guides written by students for student is to give our peer tips in how to approach each stage of medical school. These guides are updated each year with suggestions and comments from your predecessors. Please feel free to give us any comments or suggestions as we continually are striving to make better information available to our classmates. We hope these help you.

• Guide to the First Year (7/09)
• Guide to the Second Year (3/10)
• Guide to the USMLE Step I (4/11)
  This guide answers many frequently asked questions about the boards and also provides a study schedule and suggestions for board review texts.
• Guide to the Clinical Years (6/08)
  This project is designed to provide Jefferson medical students entering their third year clinical rotations with a document describing useful information about what they can expect from their required clinical rotations. It also includes suggestions for popular reference books, tables, and review books for clinical rotations and a time line for third and fourth years.
  • Guide to the 3rd Year (3/10)
    Example notes for the MSIII, both a full set and a pocket guide.
  • The Affiliate Hospitals of Thomas Jefferson University (1/12)
    This "First Aid for Third Year Clerkships" guide to the affiliate hospitals was created by the Course Liaisons and AOA members. The guide contains student-prepared reviews of each site, including work schedule, transportation, food, housing, and tips for success.
  • AOA General Guide to 4th Year and Scheduling (02/12)
  • Jefferson 4th Year Elective Survey (02/12)
  • Away Rotation Primer (3/10)
  • Away Rotation Surveys (2/12)
    Jefferson students who have experienced a rotation in their fourth year at a non-Jefferson-affiliated institution (i.e., an "away rotation") share their past away experiences and tips for getting the most out of your time.
  • 4th Year Specialty-Specific Mentors (11/08)
  • Clinical Rotation Article Collection (4/07)
    Recommended readings (with links to full text) for rotation subjects.
• Guide to the USMLE Step II: Clinical Knowlege (3/10)
• Guide to the USMLE Step II: Clinical Skills (1/08)
• International Students Guide to Matching (2/07)
• Residency (3/10)
• Guide to Research (1/09)
  • AOA-Recommended Research Contacts by Department (7/10)
  • Research Opportunities by Department

AOA Projects & Services

The Jefferson AOA chapter is very active in the Thomas Jefferson University community. We organize a number of projects each year, and we offer a number of services to JMC students, including the AOA Tutoring Service.