Several professors from the UA Department of Medicine participated in the Class of 2020 White Coat Ceremony for incoming medical students to the UA College of Medicine – Tucson, held Friday, July 29, in Centennial Hall.
Among them were Janet Campeon, MD, MPH (2nd and 3rd from right), associate professor and Adult Cystic Fibrosis program director; Randy Horwitz, MD, PhD (3rd from left), associate professor and medical director for integrative medicine; and Andrew Yeager, MD (1st and 2nd from left), professor, Hematology and Medical Oncology Fellowship program director, BMT program director and UA Cancer Center associate director for clinical research.
With 135 students, the Class of 2020 is the largest ever for the College of Medicine and also had a record number of applications of nearly 6,500. The class includes 11 graduates of the college’s P-MAP (Pre-Medical Admission Pathway) program, five students pursuing dual degrees in the MD-PhD Program, a student whose family fled Kenya and lived in a refugee camp for 17 years, a nurse who grew up in Togo and put herself through undergraduate college and a Navajo student who worked with the Johns Hopkins University Center for American Indian Health to build communication with native peoples.
Neurology professor Bruce Coull, MD, gave the keynote address: “Fifty Steps in Four Years: Professionalism on the Way to Becoming a Doctor.”
Since the initial white coat ceremony at Columbia University in 1993, the tradition has grown across the country and the world. At the ceremony, students are welcomed by respected leaders who represent the value system of the school and the new profession the students are about to enter. The cloaking with the white coat—the mantle of the medical profession—is a hands-on experience that underscores the bonding process. It is personally placed on each student's shoulders by individuals who believe in the students' ability to carry on the noble tradition of doctoring. It is a personally delivered gift of confidence and compassion.
View photos (link is external)from the Class of 2020 White Coat Ceremony.
Click here to view video of the event which was livestreamed or here for a 3:30-minute summary video from the ceremony and hear from some members of the Class of 2020.
[Photos courtesy of UA BioCommunications - Kris Hanning]