PHILADELPHIA–On Friday, 152 first-year medical school students will begin their education at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania by receiving white coats during its annual White Coat Ceremony. As part of this annual rite of passage, students will be individually garbed in white clinicians’ coats – a vivid symbol of the medical profession – and will receive a stethoscope in the presence of family, friends, and faculty. At the conclusion, the entire incoming class will recite the The Declaration of Geneva, a modern version of the Hippocratic Oath, pledging to treat the ill to the best of their abilities, preserve each patient's privacy, and to teach the secrets of medicine to the next generation.
This year’s ceremony honors PSOM’s trailblazing legacy as the nation’s first medical school while highlighting its consistent ranking among the top medical schools in the United States. The 2018 incoming class also follows a tradition of diversity. Students hail from 23 states and 65 colleges and universities. Twenty-eight percent of the class is comprised of underrepresented minorities in the field of medicine, including Hispanic and African American students. Members of the incoming class also come from a range of backgrounds, 33 percent of whom majored in non-science fields before entering medical school. An in-depth conversation with two students and an infographic on this year’s class, is available on the Penn Medicine News Blog.
Tweets of encouragement from family and friends using the hashtag #psomwhitecoat will appear in real-time on the event’s social media gallery wall on the stage. As a nod to tradition, in the pocket of each white coat, students will find handwritten notes from PSOM alumni offering personal messages of support and guidance.
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WHERE:
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Irvine Auditorium
University of Pennsylvania
3401 Spruce Street
Philadelphia, PA 19104
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WHEN:
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August 10, 2018, 3p.m. to 5 p.m. (**White Coat presentation starts at 3:40 p.m.**)
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WHO:
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Speakers will include:
- 3:05 p.m. –J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the Health System and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine, presents welcoming remarks
- 3:17 p.m. - David Fajgenbaum, MD, MBA, MSc, FCPP, Keynote Speaker, “Personalized, Personalized Medicine”
- 3:27 p.m. – White coats and stethoscopes (stethoscopes donated by Penn Trustee Dr. Louis Matis M75) presented bySuzanne Rose,MD,MSEd, senior vice dean for Medical Education, and advisory deans
- 4:37 p.m. – Incoming class recites The Oath
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The Penn Medicine Department of Communications can arrange interviews with students and speakers. All media planning to cover the event must check-in with Greg Richter (215-327-2203) at the main entrance
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 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 $550 million awarded in the 2022 fiscal year. Home to a proud history of “firsts” in medicine, Penn Medicine teams have pioneered discoveries and innovations that have shaped modern medicine, including recent breakthroughs such as CAR T cell therapy for cancer and the mRNA technology used in COVID-19 vaccines.
The University of Pennsylvania Health System’s patient care facilities stretch from the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania to the New Jersey shore. These include the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, Chester County Hospital, Lancaster General Health, Penn Medicine Princeton Health, and Pennsylvania Hospital—the nation’s first hospital, founded in 1751. Additional facilities and enterprises include Good Shepherd Penn Partners, Penn Medicine at Home, Lancaster Behavioral Health Hospital, and Princeton House Behavioral Health, among others.
Penn Medicine is an $11.1 billion enterprise powered by more than 49,000 talented faculty and staff.