White Coat Ceremony Welcomes KPSOM Class of 2027

Traditional event commemorates the start of students’ medical school journey

September 12, 2023

The KPSOM Class of 2027 poses for a class photo with Founding Dean and CEO Mark Schuster.

As their families and supporters watched with pride, the members of the Kaiser Permanente Bernard J. Tyson School of Medicine’s (KPSOM) new Class of 2027 received their traditional white coats in a ceremony at the Pasadena Convention Center on Saturday, September 9.

It was an emotional day, with hundreds of parents, families and friends, school leaders, faculty, and staff in attendance as each student crossed the stage and their designated faculty physician placed a short white coat on their shoulders. This was the fourth White Coat Ceremony – a traditional rite of passage signifying the students’ entrance into medical training – since KPSOM opened its doors in 2020, and only the second held in person since the end of COVID-19 protocols.

“It's my honor today to stand with you for this step in your journey, one I think is particularly special: officially donning your white coat,” KPSOM Founding Dean and CEO Mark Schuster, MD, PhD, said in his keynote address. “But you didn’t get here by yourself. You had family, friends, and mentors by your side, encouraging you before the MCATs, psyching you up for a big presentation, and reminding you that you deserve to make it, and that your future patients deserve you, too.”

The 51 students in the Class of 2027 officially began medical school about six weeks earlier, and so they have already been immersed in the rigors of class work, clerkships, and exams. The White Coat Ceremony offered an opportunity to take a brief pause from the fast pace of their day-to-day schedules and celebrate their accomplishment with family and friends. Many students commented on the friendships and bonds they have already forged amongst themselves in just a month and half of working together.

KPSOM student Mandisa Keswa receives her ceremonial white coat, joined on stage by family members.

“My family’s here, and my new medical school friends are here as well, so it’s a very exciting day,” student Mandisa Keswa said. “[The White Coat Ceremony] means a lot to me because I’ve been working towards this basically for my whole life.”

Other members of the Class of 2027 similarly expressed joy and happiness at reaching this milestone in their education and career.

“I’m so ready for medical school,” said student Susana Camacho Plascencia. “I had a couple of gap years before coming here. Being here feels like a dream, but it was also a very concrete goal that I worked toward. The way I put it to my mom is, ‘Every single thing is hard in this life.’ You’ve got to choose something that you really enjoy, that gives you meaning. And medicine is that for me, so I’m really excited to be here.”

“It’s a dream come true,” said Jose Ignacio Barrera. “This represents the dedication I’ve put in for 12 years to get here, and also the sacrifice my family made to come here from Honduras. I promised them it would be worth it, and today is the day when I make it happen.”

Parents, family members, and friends in attendance also expressed elation at the students’ achievement, noting the long years of studying and striving that brought them to this point.

“He worked really hard for this,” said Peter Nguyen, father of student Nick Nguyen. “He wanted to play football professionally and then one day he said, ‘I want to be a doctor,’ and now he’s here. And we’re so happy for him.”

KPSOM Founding Dean and CEO Mark Schuster delivers the keynote address at the Class of 2027 White Coat Ceremony.

In his remarks, Schuster reminded students of the importance of donning the white coat and shared that the many sacrifices students and their families made to arrive at this pivotal moment were of great importance. He noted that some students might experience imposter syndrome during their time in medical school but emphasized that each student was carefully selected to attend KPSOM due to the school’s strong belief in their ability to make excellent physicians. He encouraged the students to remain open to new perspectives and passions and to be committed to every patient.

“Today is just a very emotional day for us,” Schuster commented after the ceremony. “[The Class of 2027 is] a really special group. Of course, they are super talented, but beyond those talents they’re just really special, wonderful people, and I think their patients are going to benefit from them enormously. And I think society will benefit from them.”

KPSOM student Lillie Monique Noel Lapeyrolerie receives her white coat, joined on stage by parents.

Having family and friends accompany students on stage made the ceremony even more special, Schuster added. “We’re a small school, a very personalized school. I know the name of every student and I know where they’re from; it’s small enough where I can do that. And so, we do try to add those touches, where they can bring some of their family and friends up on stage with them.”

During the ceremony, Mohamed “Moe” Aboufares, MBA, CPA, Senior Vice President and Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Finance, presented students with the class of 2027 pin on behalf of Greg Adams, Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals. Maureen Connelly, MD, MPH, KPSOM Senior Associate Dean for Academic and Community Affairs, introduced faculty members, clerkship directors, and site directors, who presented students with their white coats.

Next, the Physician Oath was introduced by Abbas Hyderi, MD, MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education, and it was read by Paul Chung, MD, MS, Chair of Health Systems Science; Jonathan Finkelstein, MD, MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship; Deepu Gowda, MD, MPH, MS, Associate Dean for Medical Education; and Carla Lupi, MD, Associate Dean for Assessment and Evaluation. The Class of 2027 Community Agreement was introduced by Lori Carter-Edwards, PhD, MPH, Associate Dean for Community Engagement and Government Affairs, and it was read by the student editors who oversaw it: Susana Camacho Plascencia, Lillie Monique Noel Lapeyrolerie, Trevor Milan Marshall, Mark Obinna Mofus, Jason N. Scott Jr., and Andrea M. Young.

The ceremony concluded with closing remarks from Lindia Willies-Jacobo, MD, KPSOM Senior Associate Dean for Admissions and Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity, who shared a video montage in which members of the Class of 2027 thanked their families and friends for their support.

“It has been such a pleasure for me to see you arrive at this moment. My admissions team and I had the privilege of getting to know you when we received your applications so many months ago. One of the most gratifying aspects of my role is that I have the opportunity to meet you on interview day, and I get to see you here with your white coats. We are all so very proud to have you at the school and, certainly, our namesake, Bernard Tyson, would be thrilled to see this fourth class.”

The white coat ceremony is a traditional event at most U.S. medical schools. It was created by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation in 1993. The special event allows these future doctors an opportunity to reflect on their fundamental responsibility to heal, protect, and care for their patients.

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