First-year medical students receive white coats
Despite the pandemic and challenges presented by health inequities and social injustices nationally and worldwide, the 124 students comprising the entering Class of 2022 at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis offered hope during their White Coat Ceremony on Friday, Oct. 28, at the Eric P. Newman Education Center.
“You give us all hope,” Lisa Moscoso, MD, PhD, told the first-year students, who chose medicine despite such crises and quandaries.
This year’s class comes from 31 states and seven countries, which, to date, represents the school’s most diverse medical class in terms of race and ethnicity, gender and socioeconomic backgrounds.
The ceremony marked a symbolic rite of passage in which students received their first white coats, signifying their entry into the medical profession. The students also recited, in unison, a class oath they wrote and tailored to their ethics, values and goals. One of the most important elements in this year’s oath was their commitment to health equity and social justice.
“You are aware of the challenges ahead, and you are eager to take them on,” said Moscoso, the medical school’s associate dean for student affairs and a professor of pediatrics.
“This moment, the moment in which you don these white coats to symbolically begin your medical education, requires all of us – you and we, your faculty – to renew our commitment to the kind of learning that happens in our halls every minute of every day,” said David H. Perlmutter, MD, executive vice chancellor for medical affairs, the George and Carol Bauer Dean of the School of Medicine, and the Spencer T. and Ann W. Olin Distinguished Professor. “Honoring the way that details might mean the difference between a favorable outcome and a devastating one, recognizing our humanness and understanding that it is our failures, more even than our successes, that guide us toward our best selves and our highest capabilities of healing.”
The first few weeks of medical school have been “eye opening, with a glimpse of the complex ethical and structural components at play in the care of every patient,” said Joseph Krambs, PhD, president of the entering Class of 2022. “Ultimately, the experience has been inspiring. I am excited and honored to receive my white coat.”
First-year student Sabrina Madrigal was attracted to the medical school’s emphasis on social justice, health equity and compassionate patient care. “I am proud to be a part of a program that values all people and helps us learn how to advocate as doctors for all populations,” Madrigal said. “My white coat represents this and so much more.”
Eva Aagaard, MD, the vice chancellor for medical education, senior associate dean and the Carol B. and Jerome T. Loeb Professor of Medical Education, also felt pride as she prepared to lead the students in reciting the class oath: “I just want to say one word: Proud. I am so proud of all of you.”
Photos by Matt Miller. Click to enlarge.
52468517175_2a55f61d26_b
52468332349_099625e1a0_b
52467555592_5ef8b6fa9d_b
52468054211_d40cf2bd8a_b
52468332199_549e9fd92c_b
52468053891_0893409b83_b
52468602883_9687b121de_b
52468516785_fcde5e863d_b
52468602808_b1968fe45f_b
52468602583_7b117ddef6_b
52468053121_1bf12611a7_b
52467555332_8a591e5385_b
52468515980_e0d832002d_b
52468331184_a91667e1c3_b
52467554037_4f012057fa_b
52468516110_d558839e8b_b
52467553937_066095ef9e_b
52468330619_12edd99325_b
52468515060_d2c0ff5b42_b
52468330389_3b3d7377d6_b
52468601223_b3cfd39114_b
52468516670_f6752b8c50_b
52468052116_fed8459673_b
52468330089_bcdbcbab81_b
52468051981_a5221b1d6a_b
52468514520_fa8211b154_b
52468514410_4d0782b94b_b
52467552927_6348d8a2a3_b
52468329634_31d44891db_b
52468514205_24c6ab658f_b
52467552677_f968f9fb34_b
52467552587_e0383e45d1_b
52468513900_909487bee5_b
52468051226_2fa277e008_b
52468599958_28dd0f43c3_b
52467552222_075a41ab32_b
52468050921_9fa5e7cf64_b
52468513405_8353eba0ea_b
Source: Read Full Article