Largest-Ever MD Class Welcomed to Medical Profession

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Largest-Ever MD Class Welcomed to Medical Profession

Tuesday, 08 September 2009 14:08

2009-white_coat_ceremony_8545 NORFOLK, VA — Eastern Virginia Medical School officially welcomed the largest medical class in its history Friday with the annual White Coat Ceremony

The 118-student-strong Class of 2013 donned the white coat, a universal symbol of medicine, and recited for the first time the Oath of Hippocrates.

The ceremony marks the students' entrance as junior colleagues into the field of medicine, and reciting the oath is an essential part of that process, ensuring they will act ethically and in their patients' best interests from the earliest days of their careers.

Before the ceremony, State Sen. Ralph S. Northam, MD, an EVMS graduate and assistant professor of pediatrics, delivered the second annual H. Lee Kanter Lecture. Sen. Northam explained to the new medical students that health care stands on three legs: quality, access and cost.

"It is difficult to get all three in one package," he said. "We do a good job on quality, but we need to work on the other two." In order to effect change, he encouraged the students to get involved in policy making. "Be an advocate for your profession," he said.

The Kanter Lecture promotes ethics and professionalism in honor of its namesake, a prominent local attorney and philanthropist.

View photos from the White Coat Ceremony.

Last Updated on Tuesday, 08 September 2009 06:24