In life and in his journey as an aspiring physician, Pete Hoeksema says he strives to hold himself to a higher standard.
From the day he set foot on the W.E. Upjohn M.D. Campus in 2015 as a first-year medical student at WMed, Hoeksema said he made academics a priority and became a part of the institution through extracurricular activities. He focused on being a team player, he said, during his clerkship rotations and took to heart the importance of competent and compassionate patient care.
Now, as he prepares to graduate from WMed in May and take the next step in residency, Hoeksema’s hard work has paid off.
Earlier this year, Hoeksema was among nine students from the MD Class of 2019 who were inducted into the medical school’s Michigan Epsilon chapter of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society (AOA). Students inducted into the AOA chapter are recognized as having shown dedication to academia, peer teaching, leadership, humanism, and service. They also personify AOA's motto, "be worthy to serve the suffering."
“It was awesome and it meant a great deal to me,” said Hoeksema, who will complete his residency training in diagnostic radiology at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. “I always held myself to a high standard when it came to tests and our clinical grades, but also getting involved in extracurricular activities … I always wanted to be a team player, a professional student who was good to work with.”
During his time at WMed, Hoeksema served on the Medical Student Admissions Committee and helped found the Interventional and Diagnostic Radiology student interest group.
In addition to Hoeksema, the other students from the Class of 2019 who were honored this year as inductees into WMed's AOA chapter were Ashley Akkal, Jordan Fenlon, Tyler Gardner, Xavier Jean, Audrey Jensen, Evan Kohler, Beau Prey, and Nathan Whelham.
At WMed, students become eligible for induction into the AOA chapter during their third year of medical school and are selected by faculty who are members of AOA. Dr. Thomas Ryan is councilor for the medical school’s AOA chapter.
The AOA is a national medical honor society that was founded in 1902. Today, there are more than 130 AOA chapters across the country and more than 4,000 students, alumni, house staff, and faculty are elected to the organization each year, according to according to AOA's website.
In addition to the students who were honored this year with induction into the medical school’s AOA chapter, several students were also inducted WMed’s Gold Humanism Honor Society chapter.
Ai Yamasaki, a fourth-year student who is headed to Grand Rapids after graduation for a three-year residency in Pediatrics, was among the eight students from the Class of 2019 who were honored with induction earlier this year.
“I was really happy and I was really honored, especially knowing that it was not only peer nominated, but also faculty approved,” Yamasaki said. “The combination of those two was very exciting. In reading the mission and values of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, I was very humbled.”
The goal of the Gold Humanism Honor Society is to recognize and celebrate students who have demonstrated a strong commitment to humanism in medicine, the highest standards of patient care, and the likelihood of becoming humanistic physicians. Dr. Mark Loehrke, chair of the Department of Medicine, is the faculty advisor for the medical school’s chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.
Yamasaki was inducted into the chapter along with fourth-year students Claire Cameron-Ruetz, Michael Chavarria, Brittany Chow, Neil Hughes, Jensen, Elizabeth Kinsella, and Whelham.
Yamasaki said she appreciates that the honor of being inducted into the Gold Humanism Honor Society holds her to a standard that she will carry with her as she prepares to graduate from WMed and navigate the rigors of residency training as a pediatrician.
“I think what this helps me do is focus on being compassionate and empathetic with my patients,” she said. “Keeping those things in mind will help me not only to avoid burnout but also it will help the people I will care for. I think this really grounds me and reminds me of what’s really important in patient care.”