PHILADELPHIA – On Sunday, May 14, 176 graduating students in the Perelman School of Medicine (PSOM) will celebrate commencement and begin the next stage of their careers in medicine.
This year's class stands out as the some of the most accomplished and well-rounded graduates in the country, with 59 percent obtaining dual degrees or certificates, including joint MD/PhDs or master's degrees in subjects ranging from bioethics to business. Approximately 8 percent of graduates in the United States pursue these types of combined training programs, putting PSOM's Class of 2017 at seven times the national average – one of the many reasons why PSOM has been ranked among the top $$five medical schools in the United States by U.S. News & World Report for 20 consecutive years. This year, seven graduates will pursue careers in business or consulting in lieu of enrolling in a residency program.
"As medicine and health care evolves, so does our curriculum and student population. I am proud of the class of 2017 and am confident that they will forge new paths in medicine while upholding Penn's legacy of advancing knowledge and improving health through innovative research, quality patient care, and ongoing education," said Gail Morrison, MD, senior vice dean for Education in the Perelman School of Medicine.
The student address will be given by William Bassett ('17), who will pursue a specialty in internal medicine during his residency at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. Other speakers this year include PSOM alum and New York Times best-selling author Robert Wachter, MD ('83), known as the academic leader of the hospitalist movement; and Edward Holmes, MD, from the PSOM class of 1967 and former chair of the department of Medicine at Penn (1991-1997).
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WHERE:
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Kimmel Center for Performing Arts
260 South Broad Street on the Avenue of the Arts
Philadelphia, PA 19102
NOTE: Reporters and Photographers must sign in with Johanna Harvey the main lobby and pick up a ticket to gain admittance. Cell: 215-873-3870
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WHEN:
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Sunday, May 14, 2017 (9:00 am to 12:30 pm)
9:00 am — Welcome remarks given by Gail Morrison, MD
9:03 am — Opening remarks given by J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
9:10 am — Commencement address given by Robert Wachter, MD ('83)
9:30 am — Edward Holmes, MD, ('67)
9:45 am — Presentation of diplomas and hoods (best time to cover)
10:30 am — Student speaker William Bassett gives remarks
10:45 am — Recitation of the Hippocratic Oath
11:00 am — Recessional
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- J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System, dean of the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania
- Robert Wachter, MD, (’83), a New York Times best-selling author and academic leader of the hospitalist movement, a medical specialty focused exclusively on the care of patients who are in the hospital. In 2015, Modern Healthcare magazine named him the most influential physician-executive in the United States. Wachter is currently chair of the department of Medicine at the University of California San Francisco.
- Perelman School of Medicine alum and former chair of the department of Medicine at Penn Edward Holmes, MD, (‘67), president and CEO of Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, distinguished professor of Medicine at the University of California, and emeritus vice chancellor and dean of Health Sciences at the University of California, San Diego.
- Perelman School of Medicine student speaker William Bassett (‘17), incoming resident at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, TN
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Penn Medicine is one of the world’s leading academic medical centers, dedicated to the related missions of medical education, biomedical research, excellence in patient care, and community service. The organization consists of the University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS) and Penn’s Raymond and Ruth Perelman School of Medicine, founded in 1765 as the nation’s first medical school.
The Perelman School of Medicine is consistently among the nation's top recipients of funding from the National Institutes of Health, with $580 million awarded in the 2023 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts,” Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries that have shaped modern medicine, including CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the Nobel Prize-winning mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System cares for patients in facilities and their homes stretching from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. UPHS facilities include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Doylestown Health, Lancaster General Health, Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, chartered in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Penn Medicine at Home, GSPP Rehabilitation, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.9 billion enterprise powered by nearly 49,000 talented faculty and staff.