Perspective from Meaghan Delahunty: Meet the Virtuous Healer Honor Society
The Virtuous Healers Honor Society will welcome new members in a ceremony on March 13. As the program approaches, current members share their perspectives with The Pulse. Meet Meaghan Delahunty.
What is the Virtuous Healer Honor Society?
By definition, the Virtuous Healer Honor Society (VHHS) at NEOMED is a variation of the nationally known Gold Humanism Honor Society (GHHS) that uniquely defines its membership (medical students, physicians, & faculty) by 7 all-encompassing attributes: altruism, compassion, curiosity, generosity, humility, justice, & moral imagination. What separates VHHS from GHHS is its deep local focus, operating independently to foster service, leadership, and humanism within the immediate community. It is a society that honors “virtue” in medical professionals above all else.
How did you hear about VHHS?
I first heard about VHHS through school emails, Pulse articles, and Instagram posts highlighting the induction of students in the class above me. The individuals being recognized were people I personally knew to be kind, selfless, and deeply committed to service, which, by itself, answered any lingering questions I had regarding the society’s mission. Seeing their induction helped me understand that VHHS was not just about recognition but about upholding the values of humanism and virtue in medicine.
What is your favorite part about being a VHHS member?
The people! I have immensely enjoyed working with my counterparts in the class of 2025 as well as faculty members on the annual service project, the “Teddy Care & Health Fair.” I think we can all agree that working together has been a synergistic experience. The combined creativity and dedication to expanding this service project beyond what was done in previous years has been truly remarkable. This event is entirely self-directed, yet everyone has gone above and beyond—not out of obligation, but out of a genuine desire to make a meaningful impact. Being surrounded by such passionate and selfless individuals has reinforced my own commitment to service and humanism in medicine. PS: Join us at the “Teddy Care & Health Fair,” an event that familiarizes kids with medicine, at NEOMED on March 15 at 10 a.m.
How does being a VHHS member help you as a student?
This is true for any medical school; M3 and M4 years can be isolating at times! Everyone is on a different schedule/rotation/location and it can be hard to remain connected with both the university and your peers. VHHS has been an opportunity to become more deeply involved within NEOMED and the surrounding community. I don’t simply feel as though I am going “through the motions” of medical school, but am rather, fully immersing myself in a network of people that share a common greater purpose.
How can students join VHHS?
Nominations for membership begin in the fall of M3 year. Students who have been highly endorsed by faculty and peers are invited to apply for membership. Application requirements have traditionally included a short essay and a description of all meaningful service and leadership activities that the students have participated in. Selections for membership are completed via a House of Representatives and Senate approach, in which the current student cohort reviews applications separately from the faculty, and these decisions are combined to determine inductees who best exemplify the values that VHHS holds.
- submitted by Meaghan Delahunty, M4