Geisel Class of 2025 White Coat Ceremony

also please locate the nearest fire exit thank you i'm sonia kimiente and i have the great privilege of serving as senior associate dean for medical education at the geisel school of medicine on behalf of the entire school of medicine i'd like to welcome you to the class of 2025 white coat ceremony at this time i'm delighted to introduce to you the geisel school of medicine class of 2025 [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] so [Music] so [Music] students please take your seats and please remain seated during the remarks today to our family members friends alumni and esteemed faculty on behalf of dean compton and all of the members of our leadership team at the geisel school of medicine we would like to thank you for joining us on this very special day it is a distinct pleasure to welcome you to our white coats ceremony and it is truly wonderful to be able to gather together as a community in person to celebrate this important milestone in the educational journeys of these medical students in a few moments you will hear from dean compton from your associate dean for student affairs a fellow medical student and a respected alum and of course you will don your white coat with assistance from your on doctoring mentors before our speakers share their reflections however i'd like to offer a few thoughts to you about the significance of this day both for you and for geisel when i was a medical student not too long ago we received our short white coats from our office of student affairs unceremoniously just a few days before beginning our clinical years i still recall that day the day that i received the neatly folded crisp coat there was no discussion of the meaning of the white coat and no friends and family members gathered to celebrate with us but even without an event there was a significance to each of us when we first unfolded and shook out the coat holding it up and looking at it wondering if it would fit wondering if we were ready to wear it a group of my classmates gathered in the courtyard of my school to take a photo to mark the occasion of putting on that unfamiliar item that was meant to distinguish us as students of medicine amongst the large groups of providers who cared for patients in the hospital in one sense the coat was a uniform necessary so that our patients knew that we belonged to there that we were part of the care team at the time that we first put on those coats standing in a small group in the courtyard we recognized that while these coats were part of the uniform for our role as professionals they also represented much more to me both then and now the white coat represented trust trust between a physician and a patient that i would need to work hard to earn the trust that my patients would have in me that i would treat them with dignity and respect that i would seek an understanding of their unique situations and that i would always strive to do what was right for them the trust that i would advocate for them and seek to heal and to comfort when that might be the only thing i could offer as my career evolved and i developed an appreciation for our role in the broader healthcare system the coat gained more meaning with respect to my role as a physician my white coat symbolizes my place as part of a team and reminds me daily of the teamwork that is an essential part of medical care it represents the trust that all health care professionals from aides and technicians to nurses and doctors must have in each other as members of a team that will work together to deliver the highest quality of patient care indeed to highlight this point the gold foundation announced on july 30th just a few weeks ago in collaboration with the american association of colleges of nursing that 50 schools of nursing across the u.s had been selected to receive funding to host their own white coat oath ceremonies for incoming students in this current academic year this announcement highlights the importance of the contributions of all providers on high functioning teams which is critical in order for us to attain the highest standards in medical care today you will hear from dr holmes on the significance of the white coat in the medical profession as i recall the significance of the white coat to me those many years ago i'd like to encourage each of you to consider the significance of the white coat to you when you are coded today when you wear your white coat when providing care for your patients when you sit at their bedsides listening as they pour their hearts out to you trusting you with their care what will your white coat symbolize for them a final thought while this is indeed a special day for you our students for your families and for those who have supported you throughout your journeys to medical school it's also a very special day for us as educators we are not entirely whole until our new students arrive each year after we have graduated our last class so today we celebrate not only the beginning of your medical journey not only the bestowing of your white coats but we also celebrate and enthusiastically welcome your presence as members of our community as colleagues accordingly as our newest colleagues as the newest members of the geisel family i invite you to engage with us fully in the coming years as true partners in your education as many of you know geisel is in the midst of an exciting transition from its legacy curriculum to a new highly integrated four-year curriculum that will provide you with an outstanding foundation for your future careers in medicine in the coming years you will develop the tools to be leaders across specialties to provide the highest quality of care in varied practice settings and to excel in the service of a diverse population of patients you will learn how to think critically how to appropriately apply new scientific discoveries in the care of your patients how to continue to grow personally and professionally and how to contribute to the advancement of science in what is an increasingly complex and challenging healthcare environment with the promise of this new curriculum we thus invite you to partner with us as our curriculum evolves to share your ideas your insights and to embrace the opportunity to continue to build and shape your education we invite you to get involved this is your school you are geisel you were selected out of thousands of applicants because of the excellence that you have demonstrated the contributions you have already made and the promise of what you will bring to the medical profession and to your future patients so join us partner with us and continue the strong legacy of graduates from geisel to contribute to an institution that is shaped by the extraordinary students who become physicians here in turn we commit to supporting you in this journey so that you may face challenges with courage confidence and humility as you receive your white coat today and wonder if it will fit and if you are ready to wear it please know that those of us gathered here today from your family and friends to your faculty mentors and peers we know that you are ready welcome to geisel it is now my distinct pleasure to welcome dean compton to offer his personal reflection dean compton is professor of biochemistry and cell biology at geisel he is an educator in the basic sciences in the school of medicine he has an active laboratory studying how chromosomes segregate during mitosis and meiosis and of course he serves as our dean in the school of medicine please join me in welcoming dean compton to the podium [Applause] thank you very much good afternoon class of 2025. i hope the first month has gone well so far so good on the first month um let me start by extending a very warm welcome to all of your family and friends who are here today this is a really important day and i'm glad that you're all here to experience this with with our students the ceremony itself is to essentially mark your entrance into the medical profession and i'm really glad to see all of the family and friends who are here to mark that occasion with you so whether your relationship is if you're a partner if you're you have a son or daughter if you have a niece or nephew grandson granddaughter whatever that relationship may be you should know that your support is incredibly important to our students and their success so i want to thank you for that and just being by their side and being behind them all this for the next several years to see them succeed i will pledge to you that our faculty and staff are here to help these students become the best physicians that they can be so that is my pledge to you and and it is our part of the compact that we enter with you in helping to see your students our students grow and develop so to the students it's a good time to take a deep breath uh and do a little reflection i'll do that with you but you're you're actually nearing the end of the foundations course already and probably already thinking about next steps so it's a good time to to take a deep breath and pause and i mean literally take a deep breath in everyone in and out so just take a moment uh as many of you know i'm an avid hiker and i apologize for another hiking metaphor but just bear with me um i i do before i choose a particular hike that i go on i do a lot of research i i check the first of all the weather i don't really like hiking in bad weather but i check the weather i look at distances and elevations i generally like to go where there's a nice view at the top at the end of the hike so i i look for that available water sources things like that most recently i've been hiking where there are no trails and so i i do a lot of reviewing of topological maps and and uh check my compass coordinates for sure um but all that pre-work i do at home and inevitably when i start my hike uh things start going uphill um and and it's an important point that at that point in time when i just started things are going uphill that i hear an argument starting in my mind there are two voices happening one voice is saying what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere and then the other voice is saying wow let's go find out what's out there and i rarely hike the same trail twice and i'll say for those of you who are there yesterday except for holt's ledge i do that one all the time just because it's in my my neighborhood but um i rarely do the same trail twice and so a lot of this pre-work is very helpful and it helps me always see something new see something different essentially expand my horizons so as a metaphor it's a bit like the journey you're starting here you did a lot of pre-work before you arrived at geisel i'm sure and during the interview process uh during your selection during your thought process about where you'd like to go and our first day of orientation was almost precisely a month ago now and on that first day of orientation you stood at that metaphorical trailhead for the journey that you're you're entering now and so you're you're on that path you're on that path now you're moving forward it's a step-by-step process and it probably seems like things are moving really fast um and probably going to get even a little faster for you as things things go forward but what i hope and and what i want for you is for you to keep listening to that inner voice in your in your head saying let's go find out what's out there and not listening to that other voice in the first month i hope you've begun to experience the real power of teamwork you're not alone actually none of you should ever feel alone in this journey you're on this journey together already probably felt that sense that booing sense from your classmates they're on this pass with path with you you may have even started to like tbl sessions by now i don't know you will grow to love them if you haven't yet i've also learned that as a group you have a very active social calendar on the weekends and and i i want to take this moment to thank you for including us in your social calendar this weekend yet there is more to this team than than your your fellow students and your classmates as i mentioned during that very first session in orientation we are walking here right beside you we're on this journey with you the faculty the staff at geisel at dartmouth-hitchcock at the white river junction va at all of our clinical sites will you where you'll be training these are all our your partners and we're here to help guide you along this path and i think you may just be starting to get a feeling for the way in which we're fulfilling that role for you so in in foundations for example uh we've entrusted you to dr meyers and i think you're now experiencing how much dr meyers has dedicated to to your success i'm so pleased to see so many of the on doctoring group leaders participating today they are incredibly powerful partners in in this this journey that you're on so um i'll tell you you're a month here you're just scratching the surface about how much uh uh input and emphasis that our faculty and staff will be putting on you and your development so when i speak to alumni it it always strikes me and i'm i'm today i stand before future alumni and that's how i think about this um and the re this is why i raised this because when i speak to alumni it always strikes me and admittedly fills me with a bit of pride but it strikes me how strongly they talk about their fondness for the relationships that they built while they were here in medical school and it's not just with classmates that that those relationships and those bonds are both amongst you as as classmates but also also with the faculty and staff these are remarkably strong bonds and and many of those conversations that i have with alumni are have a very interesting feature to them and that feature is that when when they left geisel and began practicing in other systems they came to realize that individuals that they were working with who graduated from other schools simply never had that same sense of connection to their classmates or to their faculty and staff it is really something that is is special about this particular place in the school and and you will grow to to learn that and appreciate that and that is an important essence of this journey that you've started a journey that will prepare you to be the best possible physician and also a journey that will build lifelong relationships for each and every one of you so today the ceremony we formalized the beginning of your journey to become a physician and uh the symbol of that of that journey that we will bestow on you is is the white coat it's a profound signal symbol and dr holmes in a moment will give you the the history of the white coat and its purpose and its significance the symbolism of the white coat and the person that wears it includes characteristics of purity and integrity and cleanliness and many other attributes that are ascribed to medic the medical profession but i would ask that you consider one other perspective and that is the how the power of the white coat lies equally in how you act and behave while you wear it as it does and how others perceive you and see you while you are wearing it so that's an important perspective to keep in mind and i just ask that as you don your white coat today and each day the hereafter that you be aware of your surroundings and just be mindful of of how your presence and your actions will have an impact on those around you i say this because you have immense power to make positive change in the lives of other people and i just would like you to recognize and be aware of the immense power that you carry and and that you use that carefully thoughtfully responsibly and selflessly and i can i can just guarantee you that if you do that then this journey is going to lead to the improvement of the lives of an extraordinary number of people that you come in contact with so i'm going to end there on behalf of all the faculty and staff we now welcome you to the medical profession we welcome you to our community here at the geyser school of medicine and this is really a great day and i'm glad we could share it we could come together in person and i'm glad we could share it with all your family and friends so thank you very much [Applause] thank you dean compton i now have the privilege of introducing dr allison holmes dr holmes is associate professor of pediatrics and associate professor of the dartmouth institute and of course she serves as your associate dean for student affairs dr holmes will join us to share some history of the white coat thank you very much and welcome to everybody today it's so wonderful to see all of our new students and all their friends family and others who've joined here today so the very first white coat ceremony took place in 1993 and this was at the columbia university college of physicians and surgeons at the time dr arnold gold was a professor there and he noted that the existing practice of having students take the hippocratic oath at the end of their medical training really occurred about four years too late and it wasn't what hippocrates had actually done so the ancient founder of our profession had insisted that students take the oath at the start of their studies so what the gold foundation did by instituting the white coat ceremony the purpose was to emphasize humanism in medicism in medicine and commitment to the profession at the very start of medical education and in just a few years the ceremony was adopted by nearly every medical school in north america so when we think about it potentially apart only from the distinct attire of our various religious leaders the white coat might be the next most indicative of a profession it came to prominence in the early 1800s as those who were taking a scientific approach to the art sought to distinguish themselves from other healers who were not as evidence-based when you wear it everybody knows instinctively just who you are and that you're there to help them in their times of greatest need to this day most patients appreciate the wearing of white coats by their physicians that said they're not always without controversy is the coat elitist does it carry germs that might harm instead of heal in my specialty of pediatrics and in the field of psychiatry it's not worn and clearly i don't have one but i did go to my closet and find the closest thing i could come up with before coming here today well in 2021 one may make an individual decision about whether or not to wear the white coat when seeing patients the meaning of this day remains true to its intentions in that we hold to the oath of hippocrates whom i'll reference here in that into whatever homes we may go we enter them only for benefit of the sick avoiding any act of impropriety or corruption the donning of your coats today is the mark of transformation and of entry into the profession [Applause] thank you dr holmes it is now my pleasure to invite our student speaker to the podium each year a second year student is invited by the office of student affairs to share their reflection at the white coat ceremony this year's student speaker is armin tavakoli armen graduated from dartmouth college with a degree in behavioral neuroscience and has been a tremendously engaged member of our community particularly during the covet 19 pandemic armin class of 2025 if you're looking at me wondering who is this kid why is he talking to us and what qualifies him to give us any advice at all well you would be right the truth is i don't quite know who i am yet i have no idea why i'm talking to you and i'm definitely not qualified to give you any advice frankly i'm still trying to figure out how on earth i got into medical school so why did i show up today anyway well some time ago i was sent a lecture that made me reconsider how i approached medicine i'm here today to share that with you but first two disclaimers number one nothing i tell you today is original i'm not that smart i couldn't come up with this stuff if i tried all credits go to dr york brown my friend ashley yang and my spouse jessica who was editing this lecture as i was sitting right there thank you number two i recognize that almost all of you will leave this room and go on to live an incredibly fulfilling life without ever needing a word of what i'm about to tell you but on the off chance that this just helps one of you here goes on the spectrum of medical students i see two ends there are those of you who started a non-profit to feed the children at 14 graduated college at 17 and got into medical school at 18. you are ready to be a doctor and you will take the next four years to gain the skills necessary to become a fantastic physician then there are those of you on the other end who don't quite feel ready for the real world yet you're not as confident in yourself and you're hoping that the next four years will not only prepare you to become a doctor but also to face the real world mark my words you will become every bit as fantastic physicians as those in the first group regardless of from the spectrum you are though you are here to prepare to be a doctor you worked hard in college or in your postback program and maybe you took the mcat but you weren't a doctor yet were you you had to apply to medical school first you got into medical school and like me may be wondering how that happened well class of 2025 i have some unfortunate news for you dr pinto powell confided in me this morning that every single one of you got in because of a glitch in the computer system i'm getting some tough looks i don't think i was supposed to share that oops anyway you're here now they can't take you back and guess what you're still not doctors yet first you have to get your white coats and your scopes and we'll see well today you will get your white coats and soon you'll learn how to work all the different scopes you will take your step exams and short time from now we'll get a piece of paper that says md people will call you doctor and it will feel great but are you really a doctor yet well even though the piece of paper may say so not really gotta do residency first so you start your residency and i'm told it'll feel like the first day of high school in a new school you don't know anyone the chief residents aren't necessarily interested in talking to you and you start wondering if there's a bathroom around where you won't run into the attendings despite all of that you make it through residency successfully maybe do a fellowship or two and finally you can become a doctor except a lot of what you learned in med school is now obsolete so you need to prepare again you need to keep up with the state of the field again if i haven't lost you yet the idea is clear it never ends to be a competent physician you will have to keep on preparing for the rest of your lives so wait how did this journey of endless preparation begin well you decided you wanted to be doctors and that you wanted to help people that is not an easy task so what's the message here should we just stop preparing i can only tell you my take absolutely not you are medical students you are future doctors you have a duty to be prepared but over the past year i found myself asking me over and over and over am i preparing for the right thing take a moment look at your colleagues and then take a look at yourself your path through medical school will not be as smooth as i just described you will fail a test or two or three or more you will you may get sick physically or mentally and if you do you will learn how to be a doctor and a patient you may fall in love i hope you do and you will then learn how to be a good partner it'll make your metabolic map look like through a walk and look like a working walk in the park you may even move into a new house and have your toilet fall through the floor you'll have to learn how to deal with that too class of 2025 i encourage you to not just prepare to be doctors the reality is that we don't know what the future holds finding new friends losing a loved one 12 first author publications cancer there's just no way of knowing so rather than preparing to be doctors i encourage you to prepare for the unknown for just about anything that may hit you in the face notably prepare to be resilient courageous to stand for what you believe in even if it means going against the grain prepare to be good listeners that will help you far beyond just the clinic but if you don't do anything else i told you today prepare to be compassionate please hear me out it's a lot harder than it sounds to be compassionate towards someone who comes from a very different place than you to be able to appreciate and support someone with a perspective that directly contradicts yours this is especially true amongst your peers not just your patients do not ostracize one another you are each other's greatest be kind to each other i won't go on any longer you're smart you get the gist go get them 25s [Applause] thank you armin it is now my pleasure to introduce our alumni speaker dr john dick dr dick is an assistant professor of medicine at geisel and is a hospitalist in adult medicine he is a proud graduate of the geisel class of 2003. dr dick serves as our associate dean for clinical education and until about 10 days ago served beautifully as interim senior associate dean for medical education please join me in extending a very warm welcome to dr dick as he comes forward to the podium to share his reflection [Applause] thank you sonia it's um i'm the happiest person that you're here so thank you and tina maybe for the future for guest speakers we could have them come before the student speaker because it's a really humbling experience to have to follow that nice job nice job so thank you and welcome again to this important ceremony you know in which we take pause from an otherwise chaotic world around us uh and our lives to celebrate the newest members of our profession here the individuals of the class of 2025. i believe that time-honored ceremonies like this are good for our souls and give us hope for better days ahead and we need that now collectively my former professor and fellow geysel alumnus dr joe o'donnell used to talk about thick and thin institutions he inspired us at geisel to be a thick institution one that becomes part of a person's identity one that supports deep social ties and shared values thick institutions celebrate collective achievements and commitments like we are doing today thin institutions on the other hand are those where people pass through for their own good and have no mark left upon them how sad as a geisel faculty member and alumnus it is important to me that we embrace you into what i hope you'll find to be a thick institution one with a shared common goal with rights of passage in something that you become rather than pass through that's the institution in the profession of medicine as well it's a privilege for me to be involved in this symbolic event at this time perhaps like many of you i found the past year and a half to have been unsettling on good days and downright catastrophic on bad days the continued uncertainty fear and polarization of our society have exacted tolls on each of us like no other time in recent memory we have learned what it means to suffer collectively while this suffering has been felt unequally and has exposed the inequities that exist in our society i think it would be hard to find a family that has not faced the serious illness loss of job uncertain future or loss of a loved one those who have had the privilege to don the white coat are no strangers to bearing witness to suffering that is in fact a large part of what we do and central to the concept of compassion literally to suffer with as healthcare providers we fail our patients if we do not bring our emotional selves along with our intellect in clinical acumen to our encounters we are trained to deal with uncertainty making decisions based on probabilistic reasoning listening to the noise for hidden clues and sometimes cutting through that noise when the acuity of the situation demands it that said having to do this as frequently as we've had to do this over the past year during this pandemic is unprecedented for our generation and has been extraordinarily challenging and sometimes leading to moments of hopelessness it is energizing for us therefore today to look upon these 92 new members of our profession knowing that the timeless call to heal to cure to palliate and to improve the lives of others continues to be heard and followed thank you i received my first white coat 20 years ago here in hanover we did it outside 20 years ago or 23 years ago but it's good to be inside today it was a proud moment for me and my family as i hope it is for you and your families and loved ones with you here today i value the multiple white coats that i've owned and i've warned them with both pride and purpose when first starting out prior to obtaining my now gray hairs they allowed me to more confidently enter a patient's room and demonstrate that i was there to help and perhaps had something to offer you'll be in that position soon for many patients but not all the white coat signified that i was someone they could confidently share their concerns with the weight coat gave me pockets to hold physical exam tools one of which is here and other sorts of quick reference guys guides obviously we now all have cell phones so we're not going to be carrying around the books that we all used to carry the white coats used to be really heavy when we walked around as medical students at times it offered as a literal shield to the unexpected projectile vomiting of my patients as was the case i kid you not on the last patient of my last day of medical school i was thankful to retire that no longer white coat perhaps most importantly just owning a white coat reminds me that i'm part of something larger than myself that i am part of a dedicated team of like-minded individuals fellow physicians nurses like my mother associate providers like my wife pharmacists social workers and scientists like our dean who are constantly working to improve the lives of others now i need to share a somewhat uncomfortable fact with you this is the first time i have worn my white coat since march of 2020. my clinical work is as a hospitalist just down the road at dartmouth-hitchcock medical center where you students will be rotating soon when patients with symptoms of covet started showing up in our emergency room and on the hospital wards in which i work we made the decision to put aside our white coats in favor of wearing scrubs that could more easily be changed and cleaned for an increasing number of our patient counters we don protective respirators face shields gloves gowns looking more like an astronaut preparing to enter a foreign planet than a caring physician for a field that demands high-touch personal encounters in which non-verbal communication is as important as verbal communication this was extraordinarily difficult moreover we were pushed for safety concerns to hold many of our conversations via phone or video sometimes even when the patient was in the room right next to ours my first experience with it with this was when i was called to admit a middle-aged woman with fevers and chills and low oxygen levels whose husband had dropped her off in our emergency room after driving five hours from where they lived in the bronx in order to avoid their then overwhelmed local hospitals english was not her first language which made communication through a video screen even more difficult she was alone in her room guests were not allowed loved ones were not allowed and clearly frightened i tried my best to conduct the interview virtually however it was clear to me we needed to be in the room together she was suffering alone separated from her husband and daughter hours away from her home acutely ill with a newly discovered virus with no known treatment options her nurse had been in earlier to obtain vitals place an iv put on oxygen administer fluids her blood pressure was low however he was pulled out to care for several other ill patients at that time i don my personal protective equipment entered the room and sat with her for the next 40 minutes trying to be as human as possible in my spacesuit attending to her needs hiding my own discomfort with the situation without my white coat while i've certainly done this before with other patients with airborne diseases such as tuberculosis and disseminated varicella this was different we were both afraid the patient for her own well-being and that of her family me for the patient for myself for my fellow colleagues for my own family who i'd be returning to home later that evening this was still early on in the course of the pandemic and a lot was unknown about the risk of transmission i like countless providers around the world and across times was called upon to embody the meaning of the white coat in our profession putting aside my own fears and self-interest to attend to the needs of the patient in front of me even if the only thing i could do at that time was to provide companionship and show compassion sure i had the ability to support her increased oxygen needs and lower blood pressure but i had nothing to treat the underlying illness fortunately as the pandemic continues and we have gained more confidence and grace in our coatless encounters we finally have some evidence-based treatments to provide i still look longingly at my white coats hanging unused on hooks in my office i wonder if there'll ever be a time that i get to use them again in the clinical environment i worry that something may be lost for those patients who view the white coat as a powerful symbol of healing cutting edge science and purity of mission regardless of the person wearing it i wish this pandemic had never occurred that our patients were not forced to spend hours days and sometimes weeks alone in a hospital room separated from their loved ones with physical barriers between them and their health care providers but i do know that we physicians can and will embody the meaning of our white coats be the ones to bear witness and suffer with our patient patients and call upon our full selves to serve their best needs excuse me just best serve their needs i have no doubt that you too will eventually transcend your white coat in the meantime when circumstances are appropriate i encourage you to wear it with pride and humility fill its pockets with the tools of our trade letting those around you know that you are part of something greater than yourself recently been trying to incorporate more acts of gratitude into my days and hope you will join me in doing so today this has brought me wellness over a difficult year and a half i'd be remiss not to thank my own wonderful family my wife my two children my parents each of whom has provided me with the necessary support guidance and forgiveness to allow me to strive to be the best version of myself i'm sure your family members are doing the same for you to the class of 2025 and all those have supported your journey to this day thank you students thank you for choosing this profession for which you have already sacrificed much and will devote increasingly more of yourselves too in the coming years i hope that medicine will be as good to you as it has been to me parents friends loved ones thank you for helping your student on their path to realizing their dream of becoming a physician the road of support is not over yet please know that your efforts will indirectly improve the lives of thousands of future patients i hope that you are as proud of your student on this day as my family was of me faculty and staff thank you for your tireless devotion to creating the necessary educational environment in which you'll partner to this group of diverse students with this group of diverse students and guide them along their path of professional development i can think of no more important group than our undoctoring preceptors who are here with us today to help you celebrate this alumni i'm speaking to myself a little bit here but there are other alumni in the room and donors thank you for showing support to the newest members of our school in profession by purchasing their white coats in stethoscopes this gesture of welcoming is such appreciated and speaks strongly of the thick institution to which we belong i hope you will continue with this new initiative for many years to come finally patience past present and future and we're all patients at some point thank you for your ongoing trust in our profession as well as your calls to hold us accountable for the unique privileges you give us i hope that you benefit from our newest members commitment to scientific advancement patient in family centered care embodiment of the white coat and the creation of a more equitable health care system in which nobody suffers alone thank you [Applause] thank you very much dr dick at this time i'd like to invite dr holmes back to the podium to introduce the mission statement for the class of 2025. thank you very much one thing that is unique for us here at geisel to let our visitors know is that in our white coat ceremony the class has worked together over the last few weeks to write their own mission statement together so they have gathered they have worked they have written and they are really quite looking forward to standing together and reciting their mission statement to you class of 2025 is we will choose is foreign [Applause] whew [Applause] well done class of 2025. i'm now delighted to announce the presentation of the white coats students you will each find in the pocket of your coat a letter from an alumnus of the geisel school of medicine welcoming you to the profession we hope that you will enjoy reading these wonderful notes and that they will hold a special significance for you as you move forward in your educational journey for our guests you are welcome to photograph your student as they come forth to be coded with the on doctoring group of doctors larocca and lovins please come to the stage to be coded doctors matthew and pinto powell will be coding the students today so [Applause] hi everyone my name is ernie tao i'm from washington state i'd like to thank my mom my dad my sister and my wife for getting me here today thanks so much everybody hello my name is freda velcani and i call fairfield connecticut my home i want to thank my parents for all their love and all the sacrifices they've made for me i want to thank my grandparents in albania for being my greatest source of inspiration and i want to thank my grandmother who i know is watching over me today [Applause] hello uh thomas elverman from canada new york i'd like to thank my family my mom my dad my brothers jack patrick and andrew and all the family friends and faculty who have supported me along the way thank you [Applause] hello everyone my name is julian gonzalez i'm from iowa colombia and i would like to thank my mom my family and everyone back in miami for making this possible my name is mariata saldias montevero i'm from santiago chile and i would like to thank my family gracias herbana familia thank you [Applause] hello everyone my name is adam schwent i'm from colorado springs colorado i'd like to firstly thank ernie for going first thank you i'd like to thank my family my friends and my puppy wolfy who has not eaten my stethoscope yet [Applause] my name is alexandra conway i'm from potomac maryland and my journey has been made possible through the love and tolerance of my wonderful parents as well as all the dedicated teachers of montgomery county public schools [Applause] [Applause] hello my name is adriana radoslavic and i'm from brooklyn new hampshire i'd like to thank my family especially my parents my grandparents my sister christina and my partner ian for their constant support through this journey [Applause] with the undoctoring group of doctors mackwood and zug please come to the stage to be coded hi my name is justin fong i'm from the state of california and i would like to thank my family especially my mom my dad my brother and my sister for their unwavering support thank you [Applause] [Applause] hi my name is alec brown i'm from stevensville michigan um i would like to thank the academy um thank god that landed and i'd like to thank my family and my friends thank you [Applause] soy de el progreso yoro honduras gracias ami papa ami mama mis hermano mi familia todos mis amigos momento mucho gracias con sineos navas today [Applause] hi my name is marissa diorio i'm from north providence rhode island and i would like to thank my family especially my grandparents my parents and my siblings for their unfaltering love support and encouragement thank you [Applause] hi i'm christina stock from san francisco bay area california i'd like to thank my family my friends and my fiance peter for helping me get here today [Applause] hi i'm grace martin i'm from macon georgia and thank you to my mother my father my sister and my brother for helping me get here i love you guys [Applause] hello my name is allison boeher i'm from canal winchester ohio and i'd like to thank my mom my dad my sisters francie and aaron as well as the rest of my family friends and mentors whose generous support and wisdom got me to where i am today thank you with the on undoctoring group of doctors mishra and hofer please come to the stage to be coded [Applause] i'm andrew pettit i'm from boulder colorado thank you to my parents my partner andrea my teammates and my mentors for getting me here today [Applause] hello everyone my name is fred kim i'm from south korea i'd like to thank my family that's watching from korea and also my friends and mentor muna arty and jessica for coming here to support me thanks my name is grant larson i'm from boxborough massachusetts i'd like to thank my mom my dad my wife justina my brothers mima duck and my mentor lorenzo i wouldn't continue without you thank you [Applause] my name is kenneth greco from forward new york and i just want to thank my wonderful parents my amazing girlfriend my two brothers and my late grandmother without you there's no way i'd be here today [Applause] [Applause] hello my name is christina sierra rodriguez i'm from lakeland florida and i would like to thank my family for always supporting me especially my abuelita who will always be my strength and my inspiration [Applause] hi everyone my name is anne dion and i am from laconia new hampshire i'm so grateful for my family especially my parents my sister emily my grandparents were watching over me and other mentors who have helped me along the path to where i am today thank you [Applause] hello my name is mary harris i'm from simi valley california i would like to thank my mom my dad my partner all my family and friends my co-workers and patients who inspired me and supported me to get me here today thank you [Applause] hi my name is helen thomason i'm from river forest illinois and i want to thank my incredible parents my little brother and sister my aunts and uncles my friends peter and my little dog mod thank you i love you all with the undoctoring group of doctors mather and farrell please come to the stage to be coded hi everyone my name is ashish kurung and i was born in kathmandu nepal but i grew up here in hooksett new hampshire i'd like to thank my mentors my friends the people who've inspired me to take up this profession and for my family miro pariwar hazuba azirama thank you everybody hi there my name is liam locke i'm from basalt colorado i'd like to thank my parents my grandparents especially my grandfather robert cross my girlfriend sophie and all the teachers that i've had who have helped me get here today thank you [Applause] hello my name is beatrice fernandez and i would like to thank my parents you guys crossed borders to get me here thank you so much thank you to my boyfriend victor and the leaders in my faith pastor claudio and pastor renee [Music] [Applause] [Applause] hello everyone my name is maria cristina gilliaz i'm from caracas venezuela um wait i would like to thank my mentors my family and everyone that's sorry [Applause] everyone that's been here for me and that supported me through this path this has been a huge stream of mine and if you've been part of this journey you know so at home um thank you gracias mommy gracias papi gracia thank you thank you everyone um for me mommy tiamo [Applause] hi i'm isabelle john mallin from miami florida and i just wanted to thank my family for being here and for your love and generosity [Applause] [Applause] hi my name is megan raub and i just like to thank my family my parents tom and mary my brothers dave and tim and everyone else along the way who has supported and loved me [Applause] hi my name is ian lichtenstein i'm from portsmouth new hampshire and i'd like to thank my uh friends and my family especially my spectacular parents karen and steven my brother sam my partner anna hayes thank you for loving support hi everyone i'm christian sogard originally from ridgefield connecticut i'd like to thank my wonderful parents for being here today as well as my sibling sophie and niels for supporting me along the way [Applause] with the undoctoring group of doctors o'connor and daly please come to the stage to be coded so [Applause] hey everybody i'm ben levy i'm from alexandria virginia i'd like to thank my parents my brother and sister and my amazing girlfriend logan thanks guys hello everybody i'm jack donahue i'm from hershey pennsylvania i'd like to thank my parents my sister um grace and cara i'd like to thank my girlfriend wouldn't be here without you thank you [Applause] hi my name is noah heisenga i'm from nord vermont um like to thank my parents my brothers and my partner for supporting me woof hi i'm divina gonzalez espinoza um i come from corona california and i'd like to thank mi papo huyan my mama luz my mom my dad my brother angel and my husband vernon thanks love you guys hello my name is jessica driscoll i'm from danvers massachusetts and i'd like to thank my entire extended family especially my dad my mom kevin dylan shannon my partner jacob and my best friend devlin thank you hello my name is fong i was born in nyatran vietnam this white coat is a dedication to the physician mentors family friends and educators the most important being my mom for inspiring me on this journey and you [Applause] [Applause] hi everyone i'm chinmayi balachandra from sacramento california um i'd like to thank my parents my sister my partner chinmei i did not say my name he has the same name as me um i would also like to thank my cousins family friends specifically my great-grandfather my great-aunt and my two aunts all of whom whose work as physicians has spanned over a century and a half and whose footsteps i can only hope to follow thank you [Applause] hi i'm michelle dong i'm from ontario canada i'd like to thank my family and my friends who feel like family for being my biggest cheerleaders over the years i love you guys so much [Applause] hi everyone i'm monica gabriel i'm from new canaan connecticut and i owe everything in the universe to my family um thank you especially mom and dad who have loved and supported me through every single chapter my grandma who's on the live stream my older brother tyler and my rock and partner andrew i love you guys so much [Applause] hi everyone my name is opia gnissan and i'm from oak park illinois firstly i'd like to thank geisel and my wonderful classmates i'd also like to thank my friends and mentors for helping me get here and i'd like to thank my family there aren't enough words to describe the gratitude i have for my mom dad sister and brother thank you so much and i'm sharing this with you thanks with the undoctoring group of doctors menisha and ward please come to the stage to be coded doctors matthew and pinto powell will be coding the students today my name is omar sajad i'm from pleasanton california i would like to thank my mom my dad and my brother for their constant love and encouragement throughout the years i'm only here today because of you [Applause] [Applause] hi my name is uh ben wagner i'm from west orange new jersey and i'd like to thank my parents my siblings my amazing fiance orly my grandparents especially my late grandpa bernie for inspiring me to pursue this path i wouldn't be here without you guys thank you [Applause] [Applause] hello my name is william cody andrews i'm from pasco washington and i'd like to thank uh well i guess that uh computer glitch really came in clutch there so i give credit to where credit is due um but all jokes aside i'd like to give a special thanks to my father who was a carpenter through his career as a carpenter showed me the value of hard work and dedication my mother who through her sacrifice of her career to become a stay-at-home mom to raise me my brother showed me the value of devotion and to my brother through just his immense uh personal struggles in his own life and his press agreements through that that showed me the value of perseverance and dedication so thank you hey hey i'm jake slagle from appomattox virginia and mama daddy savannah colin meamows and dune daddies aunts uncles cousins and dear friends thank you for all your support all your prayers and love y'all appreciate it [Applause] hi my name is jacinta palik i'm from manassas virginia and i would just want to thank my mom and my dad my brother joey and my partner david for everything that they've done to support me hi everyone my name is diamather and i'm originally from louisville kentucky i'm here today because both of my parents and my younger brother who never fail to pick up the phone whenever i call it any hour of the day and who have given me infinite love guidance and support over the years i wouldn't be half the person i am today without the three of you thank you my name is micah chatwan and i'm from harabakoa the dominican republic uh i would like to thank nana and papa mom and dad chase luke and sam comunidad republic gracias ponce [Applause] [Applause] my name is rachel choco i'm from mechanicsburg pennsylvania and i'd like to thank my parents mary and jay my sister sneha and my grandparents watching in kerala india for your support and love and prayers thank you hi i'm taylor cooper i call colorado home and i'd like to thank my parents brothers and family friends and loved ones both here in person and virtually for all of your love and support thank you [Applause] hi everyone my name is sandra potter i come from oakley california and i want to thank my parents my sister my husband saul and his family for supporting me on this journey thank you would the undoctoring group of doctors rooney and grandmas please come to the stage to be coded hello all my name is julia durant i'm from madbury new hampshire i really truly can't believe that i'm standing here with all of you today but as we've heard i think it's a little bit too late to rest in that acceptance or at least i hope talk on one but on a serious note i'd really like to thank my family my friends my mentors everything i am and i have is because of you thank you [Applause] hi everyone my name is eileen nolan i'm from clifton park new york i'd like to thank my mom my dad my two brothers all my friends and extended family and my mentors for all their encouragement and support thank you [Applause] [Applause] hi everyone my name is navy ramkomar i'm from curacao and i would not be here without the support of my loving family including my dad rahm mom gita and brother deepak the original dr ram kumar i'd also be remiss if i didn't recognize the support of my mentors and teachers along the way including dr phil goodney and of course the family that we choose my friends including kanchen thank you all for coming on this journey with me [Applause] [Applause] hi my name is shavesh i am from burlington massachusetts and i would like to thank my absolutely amazing parents to brothers friends and mentors for helping me get here today thank you [Applause] [Applause] all right hi everyone my name is james thing i'm from houston texas and i'd like to give a special thanks to my mom my dad my sister genevieve for all the unconditional love and support through this journey and i want to give a special shout out to all my friends out there on the live stream for always putting up with my shenanigans [Applause] [Applause] uh my name is charlie mcguire i'm from denver colorado i'd like to thank my incredibly patient parents charlie and susan mitch and paul for coming out here you all have been more help than i've let on and of course my amazingly wonderful fiance ava viveiro for supporting me through this journey [Applause] underneath hello hello everyone uh my name is tom skipper i'm from norwalk connecticut and england originally um massive massive thank you to my mom my dad my sister hannah and maria all of whom are here today i really appreciate your love and support and hope i can live up to it and live up to this thank you uh hi everybody my name is reed automoji and i want to say a huge thank you to my family especially my mom my dad and my little brother and to all my mentors and loved ones and friends who have helped me get to where i am today but more importantly who i am today so thank you [Applause] hello everyone my name is tamar masoli i'm from twilight georgia i would love to wholeheartedly thank my friends my mentors my teachers and especially my family my mom my dad my aunt my partner judd who have loved me endlessly and supported me in this league my heart [Applause] hello my name is shandon robbins i'm from philadelphia uh thank you to my wonderful parents to sean kelsey mikey patrick and everyone else who supported me to get here thanks so much with the undoctoring group of doctors cochran and degrosa please come to the stage to be coded doctors matthew and pinto powell will be coding the students today so [Applause] all right um hello everyone my name is shaheen shahzadi i was uh born and raised in iran and i just want to thank everybody including my parents all my friends family mentors previous current and also future physician colleagues as well i wouldn't be here without you and i wouldn't be the physician i would be [Applause] hi my name is olivia jackson i'm from avon connecticut and i'm a sentimental crier so wish me luck um first i'd like to thank my mom dad and my brother for all their love and support on my journey to medical school and beyond my extended family particularly my grandparents and my late grandmother who i know is watching over me with the best seat in the house right now and all of my friends teammates and boyfriend who have kept me sane thus far i couldn't have done it without each and every single one of you so thank you [Applause] [Applause] i'm gonna try and get through this hi my name is pauline mochama i come from nairobi kenya and i'd like to thank my mom my number one supporter um mommy you know i wouldn't be here without you and happy birthday [Applause] and i'd also like to thank the rest of my family my dad my brothers my sister my auntie and cousin who came from ohio thank you so much for your support and this is for you guys noah panda [Applause] [Applause] hi my name is sue park i'm from seoul south korea i'd like to thank my family my best friend chris without you i wouldn't be here today thank you hi my name is tim mcauliffe i'm from winco pennsylvania and i want to thank my family my mom dad and sister for all the love care and support you've given me to get me to this point [Applause] hey everyone my name is sean shied i'm from shanghai china and i want to say thank you to my chinese family my parents and my sister jaha who can be here today and my american family back in marcus who are here today and all my friends and mentors along the way thank you [Applause] hi everyone my name is sola farquar i'm from albuquerque new mexico i'd like to thank my mom and dad and my older brother norman for believing in me um and dealing with me when i thought i wanted to be a lawyer and then decided i wanted to be a doctor and my awesome classmates this is so cool [Applause] [Applause] hi everyone i'm elena gupta i'm from lansing new york um i'd like to begin by thanking my family especially my dad um without whom i wouldn't be living my american dream today thanks for hopping off that plane and buying that diet coke as soon as you landed my mom who's my strength and inspiration my sister ishika who is my better half and uncle jeff aunt chris my mentors and teachers and my incredible friends i wouldn't be here without you today [Applause] [Applause] my name is jeff nichol i'm from derry pennsylvania and i'd like to thank my entire family in particular my mom and my two big sisters for supporting me on this path [Applause] hi everyone my name is connor bridges and i'm from london england and i'm a lone wolf in the tool by myself no i'm just kidding um i wouldn't be here if it were not for the motivation of my family the inspiration of my partner and the support of my friends thank you [Applause] with the undoctoring group of doctors sanders and robert please come to the stage to be coded [Applause] hi i'm ellie narbonne i grew up in princeton new jersey um i'm so happy to be here it's such a surreal moment um thank you so much to my family and my parents my mom for being the kindest most compassionate person i've ever known um my dad for great support always and my brother for making me a better person and my boyfriend michael for being so nice to me um and also my cousins and grandparents and aunts and uncles who are so supportive and so many great friends especially my friend margo who read more essays for me than no anybody should ever have to read and all the mentors who were such big inspirations for me thank you hello i'm so nervous i'm going to pass out um i'm constant spontaneity originally from paris france i'd like to thank my family both biological and chosen for all their support especially uh davian eluji who drove up here from boston today just to see me thank you [Applause] [Applause] hi i'm travis byram i'm from charlotte north carolina i want to thank all my family and friends watching my mom dad and my brother and sister thank you for your love and support [Applause] [Applause] hi my name is jerry tulo i'm from staten island new york i just want to thank my family my mom my dad my girlfriend annie my uncles um for all the love and support along the way [Applause] [Applause] hi everyone i'm tiffany de cruz i'm from lebanon new hampshire and i just want to thank my entire family my extended family in india my mom and sister who are here today and my dad who is my own personal guardian angel so thank you all hi my name is oriah vesranen i'm from miami florida um i would love first love to give big thanks to my grandma who inspired me to pursue a career in medicine my wonderful family my younger sister rhea my awesome google friend hannah and cecilia and laura and lastly my wonderful partner rick who always believed in me even when i didn't believe in myself i love you guys thank you hi i'm daniel kranzler i'm from bellevue washington i want to thank my mom and dad my sister for driving up from boston to be here my brother andrew my girlfriend chloe for helping me survive the past year and all the rest of my friends and family for their infinite love and support thank you [Applause] hi everyone you know it's a little more intimidating up here than it is watching all of you already having done it i want to thank i want to start by thanking my parents for bringing me into this world my grandparents for raising me and my aunt and uncle who are here today for supporting me i want to thank my there's so many people to thank and there's not enough time to do it my friends for believing in me when i didn't for my teachers and my professors for challenging me and for everybody that's also live streaming this who i'm not mentioning right now thank you um [Applause] hi everyone i'm soham kale i'd like to i'm from glastonbury connecticut and i'd like to thank my family mommy baba and raghov and everyone else who couldn't be here today for making me a better person thank you [Applause] hi i'm paulie de lara mejia i'm from guito acuelo where my family's watching from today hello familia um i wouldn't be here today without the love and support from my family my mentors my friends who are like family and especially to my parents this is for you gracias [Applause] with the undoctoring group of doctors mick williams and silverman please come to the stage to be coded [Applause] um [Applause] hi i'm sage from portland oregon i'd like to thank my beautiful parents my grandparents the sun and the natural environments around me for raising me with their love and light thank you so much [Applause] so hello everybody my name is derek james conaway coliso i'm from cranberry in the great street of new jersey um i'd like to thank my mom my dad my sister right here uh my adopted grandma neddy who uh rest in peace my mentors and all my extended family tuned in today appreciate everybody [Applause] hi i'm maddie newmeier i'm from dillon colorado i want to thank all my amazing friends and family um specifically my parents who are right over there thank you guys for everything that you've ever done for me i would not be here without you so thank you i love you [Applause] hi everyone i'm raquel gibson and i'm from new orleans louisiana i would like to thank my family including my mother and my sister my amazing friends and my college mentor dr richardson for always believing in me i know i wouldn't be standing here today and i wouldn't be the woman i am today without your kindness and guidance thank you [Applause] hi i'm ellen ching from mount sterling illinois thanks so much to my family especially my mom for your continued support of my persisting to honor this dream [Applause] [Applause] hello everyone my name is yuvraj mahadeshwar i would like to thank my parents for coming today and my grandparents for watching livestream mom dad thank you so much for always prioritizing my happiness success and well-being this coat is as much yours as it is mine thank you [Applause] hi i'm victoria rovkin i'm from newton massachusetts i'd like to thank my mom and my dad and my really close family friends for being here today and for all of their love and support throughout the years and on this journey so thank you thank you hello hello my name is john emery i'm from the very small town of mexico new york um i would like to thank my parents my late mother michelle who is my inspiration my reason for being here my father james who's right over there my amazing grandmother lucy who is also here in the flesh and my sister elizabeth for putting up with me um i would also like to thank all of my extended family and uh friends who also have put up with me for my third years on this earth thank you so much [Applause] hi my name is trevor canty and i'm from billings montana and i want to thank my mom dad and little sister lauren for coming out today [Applause] hello everyone um i am steve and chubozyako i was born and raised in a joseon ashanti region of ghana and a wise man once said don't be too mesmerized by the beauty of your flowers your accomplishments your success that you forget your roots your friends families and your teachers i want to give a big shout out to my big sister georgina my mom my siblings another big shout out to my future wife spencer chinese um and most importantly my father nana odiasempa in kenya my [Applause] i think that's everyone with the class of 2025 please rise to receive our heartfelt congratulations and a hearty round of applause [Applause] thank you okay please be seated for one more moment some of you may be aware that while this is a very special day for you and the first official day that you will wear your white coat it's also first for me this is my first white coat ceremony at geisel and my first as senior associate dean for medical education and in fact i think at this point you all may have been here at geyser longer than i have so this is and will always be a very special class for me we are and i am beyond thrilled to begin this journey with you all together with the incredible educators you will work with every day your team in the office of student affairs and the dean's office please know that we are here with you and for you we're so pleased to welcome you to the medical community and to journey with you in this career as you learn both the art and the science of caring for others and i believe that i speak for all faculty when i say that we extend our best wishes to you all as you embark on this journey to our many faculty alumni friends of the medical school who are with us here today thank you so much for your presence and support to the family members and friends who are joining us both here in the auditorium and virtually it's been said but your support and encouragement is critical to these students as they pursue their degrees each of you is integral to the success of these learners you are with them at every step in this journey and your presence today means so much to them thank you for supporting them for all that you have done for them and will continue to do for them i'd like to extend extend a special thanks to the many individuals who contributed today to help make this wonderful ceremony a reality the dean's office the offices of alumni relations medical education and student affairs thank you so much to the staff for coordinating the white coat ceremony kate adams michelle shamley terry eastman margot gwelzendoff tina hoisington and taryn weinstein these events require much planning and coordination and we appreciate your dedication to the students to the school your time and the care that you take in everything to make this happen an official class photo will be taken immediately following the ceremony so students we ask that you please remain seated at this time so that we may arrange your photo here for our guests we have a lovely reception planned for you today we'd like to ask all guests to please exit the auditorium and enjoy the reception in alumni hall hopkins center and our staff will help direct you and your students will join you shortly it is so nice to be together with all of you thank you again [Music] you

Channel: Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth

Views: 1,882

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: education, medical school, dartmouth

Id: CZcsSw8Py1Y

Length: 124min 35sec (7475 seconds)

Published: Sat Aug 28 2021