The majority of these individuals are chosen in their final year of medical school, though the society also inducts distinguished teachers, faculty members, residents, and alumni.

The original constitution of ΑΩΑ states that its mission is to encourage high ideals of thought and action in medical schools, promoting the highest standards of professional practice.

[3] Collections of the society's papers were donated to the National Library of Medicine in 1973 by John Z. Bowers and in 2000 by Gladys Brill Brampton.

[7][8] The Pharos, a quarterly booklet with a print run of 50,000 and online readership of 35,000, is sent to ΑΩΑ members, select medical libraries, institutions, and associations.

A 2017 publication in JAMA Internal Medicine found that "Black and Asian medical students were less likely than their white counterparts to be members of ΑΩΑ, which may reflect bias in selection.

Sinai Icahn School of Medicine decided to completely forgo medical student elections to ΑΩΑ in September 2018.