By Will Sansom

(Left to right) New medical students Nina Guo, Second Lt. Sandra Elizabeth Hardin and Tiffani J. Horton are all smiles before entering the White Coat Ceremony July 25. During the ceremony, faculty members presented the white coats to the students as the symbolic entry of their journey into the medical profession.
Printer Friendly Format

On Sunday, July 25, more than 200 confident — and perhaps a bit nervous — young adults crossed a major life threshold: entry into the UT Health Science Center San Antonio School of Medicine. As they donned the white coat of the profession and recited the Physician’s Oath of Hippocrates, they undoubtedly sensed the pride of family members young and old, the wisdom of physicians of few and many years, and the encouragement of fellow blossoming students.

More than a thousand people filled the Long Campus auditorium and the Parman Foyer to overflow capacity for the 14th White Coat Ceremony. Excitement was in the air.

Related links: The black bag and stethoscope pass to a new generation Oath of Hippocrates Statistics on the Class of 2014

“You are now officially medical students!” said Robert M. Esterl Jr., M.D., interim associate dean for student affairs, in opening remarks. Dr. Esterl asked the incoming students, the Class of 2014, to turn around and applaud their families, friends and mentors. He also thanked the second-year medical students (Class of 2013) for giving up their Sunday to assist with the rite of passage.

New dean joins School of Medicine
It was the first official School of Medicine event for Francisco González-Scarano, M.D., the dean of the school who formally begins his tenure Aug. 2. “This is a great way to begin a marvelous ceremony,” he said. Dean González is also vice president for medical affairs and professor of neurology.

He said the white coat, worn for a century by physicians, earns students the privilege and duty of caring for others. He noted that when he received his medical degree in 1975, CT scans had just been introduced and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was being used only in research. AIDS was not known.

“You are entering a dynamic field that will challenge you and never bore you,” the dean said. “As is often said of medical advances, 50 percent of what we tell you will be wrong. We will know that many years from now.”

He said the four A’s of medical school are ability, availability, attendance and affability. “When all is said and done, this profession is about your relationships with people.”

Time to begin ‘making lives better’
William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, president, welcomed the students on behalf of the 6,500 members of the Health Science Center family. “This is the first day in your metamorphosis from student to professional,” he said. “The physicians here have a lifelong commitment to healing, serving and discovering. Our Health Science Center slogan is ‘We Make Lives Better,’ which impacts patients and families, the community and the nation. This now includes you because you have the privilege of studying medicine, a window on the human condition.”

(Left to right) President William L. Henrich, M.D., MACP, visits with keynote speaker Fred G. Corley, M.D., professor of orthopaedics, and Jesse Moss, M.D., of the Bexar County Medical Society, who also addressed the students. Dr. Corley was presented the 2010 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award.

Sound advice
Fred G. Corley, M.D., professor of orthopaedics, was honored with the 2010 Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Award and delivered the invited keynote speech. In a homespun, practical way, he urged students to take care of themselves while they are in medical school, including reading not just for classes but for pleasure.

“Drop pretense, drop worry, let go of discontent, do not practice self-seeking, be wise with the use of time, cherish love, keep ambition in check, embrace friendship,” Dr. Corley advised.

Work harder
University of Texas System Chancellor Francisco G. Cigarroa, M.D., attended the ceremony and said to Dean González, “Now you get to steward one of the greatest medical schools in the United States.” To students he said: “We offer you the very best medical education and in return we expect your very best. You have worked hard to get here and you will work even harder while you are here, I assure you.”

Other speakers included Jesse Moss, M.D., of the Bexar County Medical Society, and Valerie J. Pronio-Stelluto, M.D., president-elect of the School of Medicine Alumni Association. Darlene F. Metter, M.D., professor and vice chair of clinical education, Department of Radiology, led the students in the Physician’s Oath of Hippocrates.

President Henrich said the White Coat Ceremony revitalizes the School of Medicine. “This is an exciting day — as exciting as graduation — maybe even more exciting because of the freshness, the novelty of being here [for the new students and their families],” he said.

Founding faculty members honored
At a pre-ceremony reception for founding faculty, Dean González said, “You are the very people who made today possible. As founding faculty, you worked with our very first medical students, and some of you are still teaching today, a feat of which you can be proud.”

President Henrich urged the founding faculty to stay involved. “We are going through, in higher education, some difficult times — an economic tsunami — but all of us working in this vineyard will persevere and not waver in purpose,” Dr. Henrich said. “I ask you to keep a warm spot in your heart for higher education, for all schools of our Health Science Center. All of those who love education and this profession so much must not waver in its support.”

Remember this moment
Photos from the White Coat Ceremony are available for viewing and purchase. Videos of the ceremony can be ordered through Multimedia Services, with proceeds benefitting the School of Medicine’s second-year medical class fundraising efforts.