The Perelman School of Medicine’s White Coat ceremony has become an annual rite of passage for new medical students. One by one, students are garbed in short white clinician’s coats, given a stethoscope, and as they walk across the stage they symbolically take their first steps on a long journey to becoming a doctor.
For new students, the week leading up to the ceremony on August 11, was filled with team-building exercises and social events to help the incoming class get to know each other. Between cookouts, bowling, and even building spaghetti towers, by the time classes start the following week, this group has already begun a deep bond that will only grow stronger throughout the next four (or more) years of school.
But students aren’t the only ones getting an education. The morning of White Coat, family members and other loved ones are invited to campus to get a sneak peek of the medical school experience and learn what makes PSOM stand out as one of the best medical schools in the nation. This year, parents and partners got a hands-on experience with PSOM’s newest teaching tool: ultrasound machines. Led by fourth-year PSOM students, guests got the opportunity to glimpse at a heart or a liver and also learn more about how ultrasounds are forging new paths in medical education.
“Previously, ultrasound machines were thought of as tools primarily used in radiology, cardiology, or obstetrics and gynecology, but now we are learning that they are faster and more effective diagnostic tools for a range of conditions, including internal bleeding and cardiovascular disease,” said Wilma Chan, MD, an assistant professor of Emergency Medicine. “Penn is one only a handful of medical schools teaching students how to apply ultrasounds to a variety of setting from day one. In fact, some of our trained fourth-year students are teaching residents and faculty how to use it.”
Ultrasound training is just one of the many ways PSOM is seen as a pioneer in the effort to incorporate technology into medical education. PSOM was the first medical school in the United States to give students the option to view lectures online, freeing up time during the day for volunteering, pursuing a second degree such as an MBA or JD, or even taking some time to go to the gym and unplug. Since first making lectures available online in 1997, PSOM has gone completely digital—giving students iPads in lieu of textbooks and eliminating more than 3.3 million sheets of paper.
While parents were being wowed by technology, students spent the morning learning about the human side of medicine. They discussed the importance of communication both among the care team and between a doctor and patient. Students also heard from a panel of patients who shared their personal and moving health struggles, showing the students firsthand how good communication and trust between a doctor and a patient can sometimes mean the difference between life and death.
“The patient stories offered valuable lessons in communication and humanism, and really underscored the responsibility that comes with this white coat,” said incoming student Yvette Schein.
Schein comes from a long legacy of physicians. Her grandfather, 102-year-old Joseph Schein, MD, graduated from Penn’s School of Medicine in 1941 and is the school’s oldest living alumnus. He sat in the front row during the White Coat ceremony to watch his granddaughter receive her white coat.
“I wish my late wife, Yvette’s grandmother, could also be here to see this today,” Dr. Schein said.
Schein was introduced to his wife, Selma Snyderman, MD, when she was suggested as a chemistry tutor in his first year of medical school at Penn. She went on to become a distinguished pediatrician and researcher.
“My grandmother was a trailblazer for women in medicine. She was one of only four women in her class in medical school, and I am so proud to follow in her footsteps,” Yvette said.
Yvette Schein and her grandfather, Joseph Schein, MD
Today, Yvette is part of an incoming class that is equally divided between men and women and upholds PSOM’s commitment to diversity. Nearly 20 percent of this year’s class represents students who are the first members of their family to graduate college and 25 percent of the class is comprised of underrepresented minorities in the field of medicine, including American Indian, Hispanic, and African American students. Members of the incoming class come from fields and backgrounds that range from athletes to artists to musicians in addition to degrees in more traditional science backgrounds such as biology and chemistry. Students hail from 28 states – Pennsylvania represents the largest portion with 32 students – and more than 60 colleges and universities.
Check out the slide show on Facebook to see all of the excitement from White Coat and follow #PSOMWhiteCoat on Instagram and Twitter to view messages of support and photos from Friday’s ceremony.