A record 235 students of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine at UMass Chan Medical School received their white coats at the Hanover Theater for the Performing Arts in Worcester on Friday, Sept. 6, including 32 students in the new LEAD@Lahey track, focused on leadership, health systems science and interprofessional education. The White Coat Ceremony is a milestone moment for first-year medical students as they slip into freshly ironed coats and join the medical profession.
“Each of you in the Class of 2028 has been chosen to be in this class not only because you possess the ability to be great doctors, but because you are already driven by this desire to be of service to others,” said Terence R. Flotte, MD, the Celia and Isaac Haidak Professor, executive deputy chancellor, provost and dean of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine. “That is why we, as faculty, along with your family and friends, are so happy to witness your donning of the white coats.”
For the ceremony, students were grouped by learning community, a peer and faculty collective that serves as a social and academic support system throughout medical school. With the addition of UMass Chan-Lahey, the new regional campus at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, a ninth learning community, Walden House, was added this year. All of the houses carry regionally significant names. For example, students in the Population-based Urban and Rural Community Health, or PURCH, track at UMass-Chan Baystate in Springfield, are in Brightwood House, named for a neighborhood in the city. The other houses are named for neighborhoods and landmarks in Worcester, where they are located.
A medical student in Quinsigamond House, Tristan Correia of Dracut, was cloaked on stage by his mother Melissa. His sister Mykaela, brother Ashton, grandmother Carol, and friends cheered him on from the auditorium.
“I’ve been interested in medicine since I was a little kid and it’s been my lifelong dream to become a physician,” said Correia. "Being able to place the white coat on my shoulders is a privilege. All of us who wear the white coat are bursting with potential to change medicine for the better.”
“I grew up watching many of my family members struggle with various illnesses and that made me think about becoming a physician,” said medical student Claudia Hyun, who grew up in Los Angeles and studied neurobiology at Harvard University. “The white coat symbolizes my connection to my community, and it’s a reminder to pay kindness forward while remembering my roots.”
“When you put on your new pressed white coats, commit yourselves to advancing together by bringing out the best in each other, honoring the legacy of those who have come before you here at the T.H. Chan School of Medicine, and stewarding the careers of those who follow in your footsteps,” said Chancellor Michael F. Collins. “We're pleased to welcome and guide you toward the most fulfilling career, caring for and about others. With great pride, we salute you today as our newest colleagues.”
Kathryn Edmiston, MD, associate professor of medicine and the 2023 recipient of the Chancellor’s Medal for Distinguished Clinical Excellence, led the Class of 2028 through the Oath of Maimonides. Students left the theater wearing their new white coats—gifts from members of the T.H. Chan School of Medicine Class of 2024—and smiles.
Watch the entire ceremony on YouTube.
