Following a week of orientation at Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine, the Class of 2020 received its official welcome to medical school during the White Coat Ceremony on August 5, 2016. The ceremony is a tradition in the medical field as physicians have worn white coats for more than 100 years to symbolize the trust between patient and doctor.
Founding Dean Robert Folberg, M.D., and Associate Dean of Student Affairs Angela Nuzzarello, Ph.D., addressed the gathering with inspirational remarks to commemorate the beginning of the medical school journey for OUWB’s sixth class. Dr. Nuzzarello’s remarks included interesting facts about the Class of 2020. She described their hometowns and hobbies; where they attended undergraduate school; the languages they speak; where they have traveled; and how many hours of service they have already acquired.
In front of family and friends, the students were called individually to the stage to be cloaked in their first physician white coats and stethoscopes by their Beaumont physician mentors. The mentors, through the school’s PRISM program, will provide these students with career development and personal support throughout their four years.
The ceremony concluded with another tradition as the first-year medical students recited the Declaration of Geneva, a revision of the doctor's mantra, the Hippocratic Oath, which is a pledge made by physicians to signify their commitment to the humanitarian goals of medicine.
