By Jennifer L. Berghom
Mega Doctor News
Brownsville, Texas – The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Medicine welcomed on July 22, 2017, its second cohort on Saturday in Brownsville, during a special White Coat Ceremony for its 50 newest students.
“Today you will embark on a tremendous journey and arrive at a destination in four years, where you will have earned and are granted the greatest privilege of all: being called doctor,” said Dr. John H. Krouse, the new dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for Health Affairs.
Throughout the ceremony that marks the beginning of the medical students’ education and careers, Krouse and fellow School of Medicine leaders emphasized the importance of staying humble and showing compassion. “Learn from each other, from nurses, from other healthcare professionals, but most importantly, from your patients,” Krouse said. “Let them be your teachers, let them guide you and let them show you the way.
“Be kind to yourself so that you can be kind to others. Always hold humanity, and humility, as unwavering values that you live by every day.”
Dr. Steven A. Lieberman, who served as interim dean of the School of Medicine before Krouse arrived earlier in July, echoed Krouse’s message on humility.
There are two tools vital to physicians, he said, a compass, and a map that will help guide them through moral dilemmas they will face in their profession. Above all else, he told them, remain humble and treat all patients with respect and compassion. “Apply your talents with the sense of obligation and integrity you would want to be shown,” Lieberman said
After the cloaking, medical student Adrian Barrera of Rio Grande City, led his fellow medical students in taking the Hippocratic Oath – which acknowledges their primary role as caregivers –in the presence of their loved ones, school leaders and peers.
White Coat ceremonies serve as a rite of passage for medical students. Families, School of Medicine faculty, local dignitaries and others in attendance at the TSC Arts Center cheered and gave a standing ovation to the students after they received their white coats.
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation started the White Coat Ceremony in 1993 to welcome new medical students to the health care profession. Today, almost all medical schools in the United States, as well as schools for other healthcare professions, perform such ceremonies.
A private reception followed the White Coat Ceremony for students and their families at the TSC Arts Center. Classes for the School of Medicine Class of 2021 started July 24, 2017.
