Grand Chapter Postponed  - New Date Set 

Due to the Covid pandemic the Grand Council scheduled for January of 2021 was cancelled. The next meeting is scheduled for January 7-9, 2022 at the Hyatt House Old Town /Scottsdale. All members are welcome to attend so mark the dates on your calendar now. contact the Central Office for additional details.

Chapters Cope with Covid

It would be an understatement to say that Phi Rho is having a most unusual year. All of our chapters are functioning but definitely differently than they have in the past. All chapters have been having their executive board and chapter meetings virtually. Some chapters have even recruited new members virtually. All chapters are preparing for the transition  to the new officers this spring.

 Since the Covid guidelines have prohibited the chapters from having events in person, chapters have come up with creative ideas to still  have members interact with each other.  Alpha chapter meets virtually once a month for dinner and a movie together and hosted a virtual game night. At Theta Tau the chapter has  hosted virtual game nights and Bachelor watch parties. Iota at the University of Nebraska came up with several unique ideas . The chapter hosted an "ice cream social" where the chapter picked up the tab and the members could stop by the shop and pick up their ice cream at a time that was best for them. Th chapter partnered with a local bar and held a Zoom drink sampling. The bar put together to-go drink kits for the members to pick up  and then during the Zoom meeting  a bartender taught the members how to make the drinks and talked about the history behind them.. Iota has also had virtual dinner where everyone picked up the same box dinner and they ate together via Zoom.

Some chapters have had some educational programs via Zoom . At Eta members participated in a Phi Rho  sponsored eye clinic with the school's Magis program and hope to have an eye clinic on a regular basis. All chapters are making communication between their members a top priority this year.

All chapters are looking forward to spring when they hope the restrictions will be lifted on their campus and a sense of normalcy will return.

Nominations for Medalists

Highlights of our Grand Chapter meeting include the presentation of our two most prestigious awards...the Irving S. Cutter Medal and the Jesse Ansley Griffin Medal. Nominations are now open for candidates to receive these medals in 2022...if you know of an alumni that you feel we should consider for these awards please notify the Central Office. 

HIGHLIGHTS of the 59th GRAND CHAPTER MEETING

Awards--At the recent meeting of the Phi Rho Sigma Grand Council held in Tampa, Florida the following members were honored with gold medals. 

The McLain Research award was presented to Hannah Meissner from Eta chapter for her outstanding work in research. She has done research on breast cancer both at Notre Dame and now at Creighton where she has just finished her second year of medical school. 

Dr. William A. Reed, Pi chapter, was the recipient of the Jesse Ansley Griffin Medal for his outstanding contributions to Phi Rho Sigma. Since he was unable to travel his medal was presented to him in Kansas City earlier in the spring. You can view the presentation and his acceptance remarks on the video to the right.

The Irving S. Cutter Medal is presented to an individual for outstanding contributions to medicine during his career. This year the medal was given to Dr. Leo J. McCarthy, Iota chapter, who resides in Indianapolis and is an emeritus professor at  Indiana University Medical School.

Officers Elected for 2019-2021 Biennium

New officers elected for Phi Rho Sigma are Julie Best, M.D., Pi, as National President. Vice- Presidents are Gary Leroy and Sheryl Mascarenhas both from Alpha Upsilon chapter. Gabriel Cuka, M.D, Iota, will continue to serve as Secretary-Treasurer. Christy Benson, M.D., Mu, will be our historian and Neil Wright, Alpha Upsilon will be Journal editor. Elected as Undergraduate Delegates to the Grand Council were Ryan Nelson - Eta, Ryan Larson - Iota, Ellery Sarosi - Zeta and Nathan Walton - Mu. Those selected as Alternate  Undergraduaet Delegates included Ashley Trent - Alpha Upsilon, Allison Seats - Eta, Dan Matasic - Mu, Michelle Adamczyk - Alpha Upsilon and Joseph Ayoub- Eta.

President Best appointed the following as committee chairs - Dr. Worthe Holt, Pi. - Advisory Chair, Dr. Joseph Wheeler, Iota-Social Media Chair, Leah Svingen, Iota- Foundation Liaison, Nicole Patel, Zeta - Undergraduate Members of the Executive Council Chair, Tayler Bockstock, Theta Tau -Resident  Chair,  Allison Seats, Eta - New Chapter Chair, Dr. Elisabeth Righter, Alpha Upsilon. - Succession Planning Chair and Dr. Wade Swenson, Theta Tau M.D. - McLain Research Award Chair.   

Establishment of Eta Tau chapter at Creighton University in Phoenix

Phi Rho Sigma is pleased to announce the formation of Eta Tau chapter at Creighton University in Phoenix, AZ. For the last several years many of the year 3 and 4 students from Creighton University in Omaha have completed their last two years of medical school on the Phoenix campus.  Many of these students have been Phi Rhos and have kept together as a satellite chapter of Eta. These students have requested that they become as separate chapter as Creighton Medical School in Phoenix will become a four year medical school within the next two years. Welcome Eta Tau! 

GOALS OF PHI RHO SIGMA

Phi Rho Sigma has five goals which every chapter needs to meet each academic year. One of these goals is to promote the concept of medicine as a professional service to society. Our  chapters do a great job of meeting this goal  with their many activities.

At Northwestern members participate as medical volunteers at the Hustle Up the Hancock to provide medical assistance to those making their climb up the Hancock building in order to raise funds for lung disease research. Members also participated in Chicago's March for Science...they did whatever was needed...putting up booths, clean up and provided assistance where needed. 

Zeta members participate in Tag Days with the Galens Medical society to raise money for local  children in need.

Our two chapters in Omaha compete against each other in the Phi Rho games. Each chapter recruited nine teams of six people each and there was a friendly competition with  proceeds going to the Meyer Foundation for Diabetics. Iota also hosts a Phi Rho for a Cause Golf Outing. The golf outing has raised  $6,000 last year for the Meyer Foundation for Disability and is a good way to include the entire medical school, alumni and the community. Project Homeless Connect is a yearly event that hopes to provide/connect Omaha's homeless with much needed healthcare. Eta members give eye exams to attendees and hand out reading glasses to participants. 

Service to others is one of the most important components of Alpha Upsilon chapter. Their programs are many and varied ranging from helping the children at the St. Vincent de Paul Center at Halloween and Valentine's Day, Special Olympics, Habitat for Humanity and Day of Caring Community Wide Pancake Breakfast. Their main philanthropy is their annual Food Drive. This is a community wide food and donation collection and last year provided 12,600 meals to the greater Dayton area.

At Theta Tau members participate in the student-run volunteer clinics such as the Pillsbury House and the Phillips Neighborhood Clinic. they also give of their time and talents to Feed My Starving Children and Loaves and Fishes.

IOTA BENEFIT SCHOLARSHIPS

Dr. Carol Drake, President of Iota Benefit, has announced the William Angle Scholarships winners for 2018. These scholarships are given by the Alumni Association and are awarded to senior medical students who are members in good standing of Iota chapter as well as having demonstrated outstanding academic achievement  by being named members of A.O.A. The awards are named for Dr. William Angle, a long time board member of Iota Benefit, whose investment strategies were in a large part responsible for the ability of the board to award the scholarships.

This year the Scholarship winners are Drs. Leah Svingen, Gage Rensch, Jake Long, Nicholas Van Roekel, Gregory Dean and Ashley Janssen. Each will receive a check for $500.00 to further their medical educations. 

Iota Chapter Update from 2015-2016

Phi Rho Sigma Iota Chapter at the University of Nebraska Medical Center has a very active chapter with steadily increasing recruitment numbers over the past few years. This year, there were 58 new members, representing 45% of the first year class. As our chapter does not have a house, we have unlimited membership spots available and encourage all medical students interested in facilitating connections with classmates and alumni to join. Our chapter activities include a variety of educational, philanthropic, and social events. Monthly meetings have ranged from inviting physicians to talk about experiences in private practice, trivia night, white elephant holiday gift exchange, and a back to school BBQ. This fall, we held the First Annual Phi Rho Sigma Alumni Golf Scramble and raised $2,000 for the Scottish Rite Institutes. These funds were used to provide 20 sessions of speech and language therapy to the clients of their clinic. We are appreciative of the continued support from our advisor, Dr. Carol Drake, and from the national chapter.

ETA CHAPTER HOSTED A HALLOWEEN PARTY

Creighton's ETA chapter hosted a Halloween party for Sacred Heart school in Omaha.  Phi Rho's dressed in costumes to man the Coffin Library, giving away books.  Councillor Dr. Drake, as cowgirl Carol, brought the Spooky Pony Ride to life.  There were tattoos for everyone and healthy snacks along with toothbrushes. The highlight was "Monster Operation" overseen by President David Stuart who helped his volunteer "doctors" explore a spaghetti gut and a jello liver among other body parts.

OFFICERS ELECTED FOR THE 2017-19 BIENNIUM

Elected to serve as officers of the Grand Chapter were: Dr. Elisabeth Righter - President, Dr. Gary LeRoy and Dr. Julie Best - vice Presidents, Dr. Gabriel Cuka- Treasurer, Dr. Casey Drake- Historian and Dr. Sheryl Mascarenhas, Editor. The following undergraduates were elected to serve as Grand Council members: Tayler Bockstock -Theta Tau, Claire Kwan - Alpha, Brooke Kenneda- Alpha Upsilon and Nicole Patel - Zeta. Alternate Undergraduate delegates elected are Brittany Thomas - Eta, Tanner Hannapel - Iota, Sylwia Rychtarczyk - Eta, Eliza Peirine- Theta Tau, and Matt Thomas - Alpha Upsilon. Dr. Righter announce that the following would serve as committee chairs this biennium - Neil Knight, Leah Svingen, Dr. Michelle Polich, Dr. Joseph Wheeler, Dr. Christy Benson, Dr. Wade Swenson, Dr. Patrick Crooks, and Dr. Worthe Holt. Congratulations to all!

The McLain Medal goes to the undergraduate member who has done outstanding research while in medical school. This year the medal was presented to Leah Svingen of iota Chapter at the University of Nebraska. She has served as President of her Phi Rho Chapter and is the current President of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society. Leah will graduate in 2018 and plans for a residency in psychiatry.

Other educational sessions were presented by Dr. Julie Best, Dr. Michelle Polich, Dr. Christy Benson and Dr. Gabriel Cuka.

NEW OFFICERS ELECTED FOR THE 2015-17 BIENNIUM

Elected to lead Phi Rho Sigma for the next two years are the following:

President - Dr. Elisabeth Righter, Alpha Upsilon
Vice- Presidents - Dr. Gary Leroy, Alpha Upsilon and Dr. Julie Best, Pi
Secretary/Treasurer - Dr. Gabriel Cuka, Iota  
Historian - Dr. Casey Drake, Iota
Editor - Dr. Sheryl Mascarenhas, Alpha Upsilon

Representing our medical students on the Executive Council are the following:
Undergraduate Delegates - Neil Knight - Alpha Upsilon, Anna Wethington - Eta, Michelle
Polich - Iota, and Crystal Donelan - Theta-Tau. Elected as Alternate Undergraduate Delegates are Suvai Gunasekaran - Alpha, Nicole Hogan - Alpha Upsilon, Hsin  (Cindy) Lee- Zeta, Sarah Stucker - Mu and Zhaohui Hu - Mu.

1000 Pounds of Food was Raised

The Eta (Creighton University) and Iota ( University of Nebraska Medical Center) work together each year on a community service project .In 2011 both chapters collected  canned food items to benefit the Food Bank for the Heartland. Bins were placed on each campus for collections and food was collected prior to the Creighton vs. Nebraska basketball game. A total of 1000 pounds of food was raised between the two chapters. Additionally the alumni associations of each chapter donated $500.00 to the Food Bank.

In 2012 the two chapters teamed up again to collect personal hygiene items with all items going to the Porto Clinic, a free clinic for the underserved. Again bins were set out on each campus and by the end of the collection period over 350 items were collected and donated. Eta chapter won the friendly competition this year and the two chapters celebrated with a joint social. 

Mu Chapter Starts New Tradition

Mu chapter at the University of Iowa hosted a Match Day Breakfast for all seniors in the medical school...the breakfast was a huge success and did much to alleviate the nerves of the students as they looked forward to see where  the next step in their medical education would take them.

56TH GRAND CHAPTER CONVENTION HIGHLIGHTS

The 56th Grand Chapter Convention was held in Chicago on June 14 - 15, 2013. The meeting took place at the Allerton Hotel which is located just a few blocks away from the Northwestern University School of Medicine which is where the Alpha chapter was founded.

Highlights of the meeting included:

Presentation of the Irving S. Cutter Medal to Dr. Melvin Sigel of Minneapolis, MN. This medal is given to an member of Phi Rho Sigma who has made an outstanding contribution to medicine.  A graduate of the University of Minnesota and a member of Theta Tau chapter, Dr. Sigel has been active in the Federation of State Medical Boards and led the organization as President. He was also twice President of the Minnesota Board of Medical Examiners.
                      

Dr. Alan Adler, Indiana University, 2011 Griffin Medal recipient for service to the society spoke about the changes that have taken place in Phi Rho Sigma during his years of membership.  He cited the admittance of women to membership, the change from being known as a fraternity to a society, and the formation of the Phi Rho Sigma Foundation.
                   

"From Medical School to Residency" was presented by Dr. Christy Benson, University of Iowa.  
                   
A discussion of Social Media, Physicians, and Professionalism was facilitated by the following Undergraduate members of the Executive Council: Dr. Matt Downen, University of Iowa, Joe Wheeler, University of Nebraska, and Juan Reyes Genere, University of Minnesota.  

NATIONAL OFFICERS ELECTED for 2013-2015

President - Elisabeth Righter, M.D., Alpha Upsilon
Vice President - Gary Leroy, M.D., Alpha Upsilon
Vice President - Gabriel Cuka, M.D., Iota
Secretary/Treasurer - Julie Best, M.D., Pi
Historian - Casey Drake, M.D., Iota
Editor - Sheryl Mascarenhas, M.D., Alpha Upsilon

Undergraduate Delegates - Michael Jung - Alpha, Michelle Pequet - Eta, Siri Hill - Theta Tau, LaTashia Irving - Alpha Nu

Undergraduate Alternate Delegates - Priya Larson - Theta Tau, Brennan Tesdahl - Mu, Alyssa Newton - Zeta, Ben Grams - Iota, Joe Giacalone - Mu  

Additional members of the Executive Council appointed by the President include:
Advisory Council Representative - Dr. Worthe Holt
New Physicians Chair - Dr. Christy Benson
Social Media Chair - Joe Wheeler
Councilors Chair - Dr. Matt Downen
Chapter Communications Chair - Juan Reyes Genere
McLain Research Award Chair - Dr. Wade Swenson

Current Grand Chapter Officers

2011 - 2013

President: Elisabeth Righter, Alpha Upsilon

• Vice-President for the US: Gary Leroy, Alpha Upsilon
• Vice-President for Canada: Gabriel Cuka, Iota
• Secretary-Treasurer: Julie Best, Pi
• Editor: Sheryl Mascarenhas, Alpha Upsilon
• Historian: Casey Drake, Iota

55th Biennial Convention of Grand Chapter

June, 2011 - Orlando, Florida

Grand Chapter medalists: Lamar S. McGinnis, Jr., Chi Alpha -- Irving S. Cutter Medalist (for service to medicine); Worthe Holt, Pi -- Jesse Ansley Griffin Medalist (for service to Phi Rho Sigma); Alan Adler, Pi -- Jesse Ansley Griffin Medalist (awarded in absentia); and Wade Swenson, Theta-Tau -- Paul Larimer McLain Student Research Award.