National Alpha Omega Alpha was established in 1902 at the College of Physicians and Surgeons in Chicago, the Kansas Alpha Chapter received its charter in 1931. Election to Alpha Omega Alpha is a distinction that accompanies a physician throughout his or her career. Especially for the younger physician, the society provides a forum for the exchange of ideas as well as a source of valuable contacts. Members can be elected as a student, house officer, alumni or faculty of an affiliated institution, or by virtue of distinguished achievement in any field related to medicine, on a honorary basis. Elections in the first four categories are carried out by the individual chapters.
Chapters elect undergraduate members from students in their last two years of medical school.
Students who are in the top academic quartile of their class are eligible for election, but the number elected may not exceed one-sixth of the graduating class. The Alpha Chapter at the University of Kansas has two separate elections in which undergraduates may be voted into Alpha Omega Alpha. The students elected to the society are men and women who have compiled the requisite high academic standing and who, in the judgment of the members of the local chapter, have shown promise of becoming leaders in their profession. As noted above, opportunities exist for later election to the society of those not selected as undergraduates.