M.D. Class of 2019 Begins Medical Journey

Nearly 200 SMHS students participate in annual White Coat and Honor Code Ceremony.

August 10, 2015

White Coat

School of Medicine and Health Sciences Dean Jeffrey S. Akman places a white coat on a first-year M.D. student during Saturday's ceremony.

By C.J. Trent-Gurbuz

Although a “simple piece of clothing,” the physician’s white coat is replete with symbolism, said second-year medical student Michael Kahn at the George Washington University on Saturday. He joined the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences (SMHS) to celebrate the White Coat and Honor Code Ceremony for the M.D. Class of 2019.

“Superman has his cape, Spiderman’s got his tights, and I’ve got my white coat,” Mr. Kahn said. “To those we serve, it’s a symbol of healing, knowledge and trust. And for those reasons, it also carries with it immense power.”

The words of Mr. Kahn, a former English teacher, tugged at a narrative thread that wove through the speeches at the annual ceremony. From second-year medical students and ceremony co-coordinators Janani Raveendran and Maria Henry, the M.D. Class of 2019 learned to treat the white coat as representative of their commitment to medicine and patients.

“Accept this [as] a symbol of your choice,” Ms. Henry said.

SMHS Dean Jeffrey S. Akman—the vice president for health affairs and Walter A. Bloedorn Professor of Administrative Medicine—likened the white coat to George Washington’s revered hatchet as “an everlasting symbol for professionalism, humanism and, most importantly, truth and integrity.”

Richard Simons, senior associate dean for M.D. programs and professor of medicine at SMHS, urged students to seek curiosity as they don the white coats that signal their entrance into medicine, with all of its duties, responsibilities and rewards.

It was from Maj. Gen. Nadja West, M.D. ’88, joint staff surgeon and ceremony keynote speaker, however, that students heard of the white coat’s impact beyond the circle of medicine.

“I wear the cloth of our nation in my uniform, but the threads of my white coat are embedded in the fibers of this uniform here,” Maj. Gen. West said. As she described her experiences as a highly decorated member of the Armed Forces, she emphasized the unique privileges of physicians.

“You get to share the most intimate and personal details of another human being’s life,” she explained. “You get to relieve suffering. You get to provide hope. And you get to make a difference in something that truly matters: someone’s health.”

Following the major general’s address, the nearly 200 members of the Class of 2019 lined up to formally don their white coats for the first time. While Rhonda Goldberg, associate dean for student affairs, and Diane McQuail, associate dean of admissions, led the introductions, Dr. Akman helped each student slip into his or her coat.

“The purchase of your white coats by the many generous alumni donors, families and friends listed in your program is our way of saying, ‘Welcome to the GW medical community,’ ” Dr. Akman said. “These donations reflect that GW medical school graduates want to invest in the future of medicine, that we believe in our alma mater and in your dream of becoming physicians.”

As part of the White Coat Initiative, which includes the donated coats, students also received iPads earlier in the week during orientation, a multi-day event organized by second-year medical students Michelle Chen, Chase Hiller and Michael McMullen.

At the ceremony, after shaking hands with Dr. Akman and signing the Honor Code with guidance from Yolanda Haywood, associate dean for diversity, inclusion and student affairs, and associate professor of emergency medicine, and Lawrence “Bopper” Deyton, senior associate dean for clinical public health, students stood proudly to applause from family and friends.

“It’s a symbol of my dedication to the profession of medicine, and certainly, the short white coat is a sign that I’m starting on the journey of becoming a physician,” said Matthew Kinnard after the class filtered out of Lisner Auditorium for a reception in Kogan Plaza.

His classmate, Amira Athanasios, echoed the sentiment of her new mentors and teachers.

“The white coat is a symbol for healing, which carries gentleness and trust with it," she said. "And hope.”