College of Medicine hosts White Coat Ceremony for Class of 2028

The CMU College of Medicine welcomed its 12^th cohort of students with a formal White Coat Ceremony on August 9, 2024.  Selected from more than 8,000 applicants, the Class of 2028 is comprised of just over 100 students.  Among them are 82 Michigan residents; six of whom received undergraduate degrees from CMU. These future physicians officially began their medical education by accepting their coats and making a commitment to compassionate care by reciting the Declaration of Geneva.

The Ceremony’s keynote speaker was Dr. Jacob S. Ghannam, Jr, a CMU College of Medicine alum who graduated in 2019.  Dr. Ghannam completed his residency training in diagnostic radiology at Corewell Health William Beaumont University where he was named Chief Diagnostic Radiology Resident Physician.  Currently, he is working as a clinical instructor in abdominal imaging and intervention at the University of Michigan Health System in Ann Arbor.

Dr. Ghannam advised the students “learning is a lifelong process; every experience, every patient and every mentor can teach you something new.”  He urged them to find balance amid the challenges and joys of their medical journey.  “When you look back you will see a person who has grown both professionally as well as personally; a person who has made significant contributions to your field of medicine and also impacted the lives of many patients on a deeper level, so embrace the challenges, cherish the joys and don’t forget to laugh along the way.”

Dr. Arnold P. Gold at Columbia University initiated the White Coat Ceremony in 1993. Gold was a professor, pediatric neurologist, and passionate advocate for humanistic health care. He believed the oath taken by new physicians at the end of medical school came too late. Through the nonprofit organization he and his wife, Dr. Sandra Gold, started, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation has expanded the White Coat Ceremony around the globe.  Now, nearly every medical school in the United States participates in this traditional ceremony.