Ceremony marks rite of passage for new medical students
August 13th, 2007
The School of Medicine Class of 2011 reads the Declaration of Geneva, a pledge to serve humanity through the ethical practice of medicine.
Nearly 150 new medical students gathered on the on the Health Sciences Center campus Aug. 5 to observe a traditional rite of passage — the “White Coat Ceremony” — and to pledge their intent to serve humanity through the ethical practice of medicine.
The ceremony is so named because each student ascends a stage in the HSC Auditorium to don — for the first time — the type of jacket worn by future physicians across America. Medical Dean Edward C. Halperin and other medical school faculty presented the jackets this year.
The event, emotionally charged for some students, marked the beginning of what will be one of the most challenging experiences of their lives.
Anthony J. Casale, professor and chair of the urology department, presents first-year medical student Daniel Jackson with his white coat.
“This is such an exciting time for everyone,” said Toni Ganzel, senior associate dean for students and academic affairs in the School of Medicine. “The first-year students have worked and planned and hoped for this opportunity for so long, and now it’s finally here. They’re about to start on what will be a remarkable personal and professional journey that will bring them a lifetime of joy and fulfillment.”
The class of 2011 boasts 148 students — a drop of one from last year’s group, but the incoming students were selected from a much larger pool of applicants (2,194 versus 1,805), according to statistics from the Dean of Students’ Office.
Of those 148 students, 81 are male and 67 are female, with 51 coming from Jefferson County, Ky., and the remainder from elsewhere in the United States. Their average college GPAs and Medical College Admission Test scores are 3.64 and 9.73, respectively, which represents an increase over last year’s numbers of 3.52 and 9.27, officials said.
