Smiles, selfies and celebratory high fives made up recent white coat and professionalism ceremonies that welcomed hundreds of incoming UNMC students.
The annual tradition marks the beginning of the students’ journeys as future physicians, dentists, dental hygienists, pharmacists and future allied health professionals.
For the UNMC College of Medicine, it marked the first step in the medical careers of 153 new students matriculating this fall, including the inaugural cohort of the UNMC College of Medicine’s regional campus in Kearney. (See a photo album.)
The White Coat Ceremony is a tradition and program of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to humanism in health care. The UNMC College of Medicine Alumni Council, those who know best the responsibility to come, sponsored the coats.
These coats, “blank as a sheet of paper, waiting for you to write your story,” said Sarah Chandler, M4, president of UNMC’s chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society. She was one of a handful of speakers to address the incoming class.
These coats, “should not be donned casually,” Dean Bradley Britigan, MD, told the students about to wear them for the first time.
The coats represent the trusted relationships physicians hold with their patients, Dr. Britigan said. The human aspect of medicine.
Dr. Britigan noted that he is likely participating in his final White Coat Ceremony as dean. Dr. Britigan announced in July that he intends to step down from the role and expects his successor to be in place by the time next year’s class arrives.
The incoming class includes 10 who serve as the inaugural cohort at the UNMC College of Medicine’s regional campus at Kearney. They’ve spent the last two weeks together preparing to enter medical school and have already become a tight group, Kaleb Burr said.
The UNMC College of Pharmacy welcomed 61 incoming students – 54 in Omaha and seven in Kearney, which celebrates its second year of the expanded program.
“Your white coat stands out because it is important to your patients,” said Don Klepser, PhD, the Joseph D. Williams Endowed Dean. “It is a sign of professionalism, a sign of caring, a sign of compassion…By donning the white coat, your patients expect the utmost professionalism from each of us. They expect our best every day.”
In her first white coat ceremony as dean of the College of Allied Health Professions, Tammy Webster, PhD, welcomed 336 new allied health students, saying “the white coat represents much more than your entrance into a program of study. It symbolizes the trust that will be placed in you and your commitment to conduct yourself with the respect, integrity, competence, and service expected of a health care professional.” (See a photo album.)
She noted that “here, in the College of Allied Health Professions, we believe that you do not suddenly become a professional on the day you graduate. Your professional journey begins when you enter your program. That belief is at the heart of today’s ceremony.”
“With only 10 of us in Kearney we’ve got to rely on each other,” he said. “It’s going to be hard, but we’ve done hard things,” to get into medical school.
In Lincoln, the UNMC College of Dentistry welcomed 60 incoming dental students and 26 incoming dental hygiene students. (See a photo album and full story.)
“The white coat is symbolic,” said Dean Gerard Kugel, DMD, PhD. “It’s a big transition, psychologically and academically, and we’re celebrating that.
“We have an amazing class,” he said. “In addition to their qualifications, their personalities are second to none.”
Although no white coats were donned, UNMC Graduate Studies welcomed – both in person and online – nearly 160 new students from 11 countries during its Aug. 18 matriculation ceremony. (See a photo album.)
Among them: A cadre beginning their Master of Science in pharmaceutical sciences.
“This was my dream school since undergrad,” said Mariem Hassan, an international student from Egypt who attended Tuesday’s ceremony at the Durham Research Center. Previously a teaching assistant, she said she learned of UNMC through a STEM friend at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
In closing, Karen Gould, PhD, MEd, interim dean of graduate studies, reminded students that graduate school is more than a degree. “It is a transformative journey,” she said. “The growth, the challenges and the discoveries you’ll experience along the way are just as meaningful as the destination.”
A dental student takes a selfie before the UNMC College of Dentistry Dental Class of 2030 poses for a class portrait at the college’s White Coat Ceremony on Aug. 20. (Photo by Chris Christen)