A group of incoming medical students pose in their white coats
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Pitt welcomed its newest class of medical students

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  • University News
  • Graduate and professional students
  • School of Medicine

The University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine welcomed the incoming Class of 2027 during its 29th annual White Coat Ceremony, held at the Carnegie Music Hall in Oakland this June. The event was followed by an Oath of Professionalism lunch for matriculating students to familiarize them with their new instructors and mentors and to express their class’s unique efforts toward inclusivity.

During the White Coat Ceremony, more than 150 new students, their families and friends joined Pitt Medicine leaders to celebrate their admission to the School of Medicine and welcome them to Pittsburgh. Attendees heard remarks from Alda Maria Gonzaga, associate dean for student affairs at Pitt Medicine; Anantha Shekhar, senior vice chancellor for the health sciences and John and Gertrude Petersen Dean of the School of Medicine; and MaryMartha Ford-Dieng, an academic advisor for Columbia University and mental health advocate with personal experience benefiting from UPMC’s team of world-class experts. After welcoming the new class, the speakers expressed pride and excitement for students’ future endeavors as they received their white coats — officially marking the start of their journey at the School of Medicine.

The speakers’ words of wisdom were interspersed with short performances from the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and the Pittsburgh Opera to encourage students to explore the city around them and its cultural assets.

Ford-Dieng and Shekhar stand smiling
Students in white coats sit in rows of chairs for a photo taken from above

These collaborations were initiated five years ago by Freddie Fu, late Pitt professor and former chair of the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, and his wife, Hilda. The School of Medicine has maintained this tradition as well as Fu’s annual leading of reciting the Hippocratic Oath, which marks students’ commitment to medical integrity. This year, incoming students and practicing physicians were invited to recite the Hippocratic Oath alongside Fu — in video form — as classes before them did.

The School of Medicine White Coat Ceremony is made possible thanks to support from Freddie and Hilda Pang Fu, the Pitt Medical Alumni Association and the generosity of Pitt Medicine supporters.

Attend the School of Dental Medicine’s White Coat Ceremony on Monday, Aug. 21, at 2 p.m. in Alumni Hall’s 7th Floor Auditorium.

 

— Erin Friel, photography by John Altdorfer

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