Congratulations to Heidi Combs, MD, for being elected into the University of Washington Undergraduate Medical Education chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. The Gold Humanism Honor Society recognizes students, residents and faculty who are exemplars of compassionate patient care and who serve as role models, mentors, and leaders in medicine. GHHS members are the ones that others say they want taking care of their own family.

Third and fourth year medical students nominated Dr. Combs for her commitment to humanism in medicine, and she was ultimately selected by student members of the UW School of Medicine Gold Humanism Honor Society chapter. Her nominations were incredibly supportive, including the example below:

“In addition to being one of the best teachers at UW (as evidenced by her perpetuity award for teaching), Heidi is a warm, enthusiastic, and brilliant face for the Psychiatry clerkship. Despite the daily challenges of working with the some of the most severely ill patients in the state, and doing so in one of the most under-resourced medical specialties, she never fails to brighten students’ days with fabulous lectures, encouragements, and delightfully quirky purses. However, where she really shines is as an example of how to be a compassionate listener while also providing necessary medical care and making difficult decisions, and as a clerkship director, she is also one of the most open and supportive faculty members I have encountered.”