KPSOM Spotlight

White Coat Ceremony Welcomes KPSOM Class of 2028

Traditional event commemorates the start of students’ medical school journey

September 10, 2024

The KPSOM Class of 2028 poses for a class photo with Dean and CEO John L. Dalrymple.

The KPSOM Class of 2028 poses for a class photo with Dean and CEO John L. Dalrymple.

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 2028 received their traditional white coats in a ceremony at the Pasadena Convention Center on Friday, September 6.

It was an emotional evening, 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 fifth 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 third held in-person since the end of COVID-19 protocols.

“The white coat signifies great responsibility and the advent of one of the most storied relationships the human race experiences—that between someone who needs care and the person who provides that care,” KPSOM Dean and CEO John L. Dalrymple, MD, said in his keynote address. “I can say, without a doubt, you are entering one of, if not the, most noble professions on the planet. As a great medical educator from the turn of the last century, Francis Peabody, once said: ‘The secret of the care of the patient, is in caring for the patient.’”

The 51 students in the Class of 2028 officially began medical school several weeks earlier, and they have already been immersed in the rigors of class work, clerkships, and exams. The White Coat Ceremony offered a milestone moment, marking the start of each student’s medical education journey. Many commented on the friendships and bonds they have already forged amongst themselves in roughly one month of working together.

KPSOM student Cassie Collins Santana, a member of the Class of 2028, receives her White Coat onstage during the ceremony.

KPSOM student Cassie Collins Santana, a member of the Class of 2028, receives her White Coat onstage during the ceremony.

“It was really special,” student Cassie Collins Santana said of the ceremony. “Seeing the videos of everyone talking about their journeys here, and how many people are here to support us, how grateful we all are for our communities, I think, made it extra special today. We’ve only been in school about four weeks, so it’s pretty exciting and everything is still pretty new. I think our class is exceptionally kind, and really accomplished people, so I feel very grateful and lucky to be here.”

Other members of the Class of 2028 spoke about the symbolism of the white coat itself. The students had worn white coats previously—particularly when they began their clinical training at Kaiser Permanente sites in their very first weeks of medical school, but the ceremony brought another level of meaning, they said.

“The first time it felt real was when we were going into clinic,” said Matthew Hunter Farrell. “I put it on before seeing patients, and I almost felt like, wait a minute—it feels sacred at that point. I think that’s when I realized I need to truly embody what it means to wear a white coat, and to represent all of the physicians who came before us, to get us to the point where we are, here today. And today, putting it on, with our names on it as well, it feels really surreal.”

“It’s a big honor. We’ve been going to our clinical sites already, but [this] makes it feel a little more real,” said Hillary Walker. “It’s one step closer. The feeling, I would say, is one of connection, that we’re being welcomed into the profession.”

KPSOM Dean and CEO John Dalrymple delivers the keynote address at the Class of 2028 White Coat Ceremony.

KPSOM Dean and CEO John Dalrymple delivers the keynote address at the Class of 2028 White Coat Ceremony.

In his remarks, Dalrymple likened donning the white coat to the first step in a medical student’s formation of their professional and personal identity as a physician and individual. “We all have intersectional identities we carry,” Dalrymple said. “For me, I can think of: son, husband, uncle, Latino, Roman Catholic, and gay man, gynecologic oncologist, medical educator, just to start. And you all have your own list. And now you get to add another one—physician. You have what it takes and you are moving closer each day to taking on that identity. And now you get to decide: What kind of doctor do you want to be in that exam room?” 

“My challenge to you is to take the time to form and establish who you want to be as a physician in these early days of med school,” he added. “And I’m not referring to the specialty, but to how you show up to care for your patients.”

Having family and friends accompany them on stage to accept the white coat made the ceremony even more meaningful, students said. 

“I almost cried,” said Nnenna Obih, “but it was exciting because my family was there to support me, and they were all cheering me on. [The white coat] signifies a lot. It signifies me being the doctor that I’ve always envisioned myself being, even as a little girl. It signifies everybody that I’ll be able to help and serve when I become a doctor. That’s pretty much my promise: to make the world a better place in the way that I can personally touch their lives.”

“I didn’t think I would be this moved by the White Coat Ceremony, but seeing all my friends come in, and everyone’s families, and people’s dreams being realized, it touched a chord,” Sheikh Omar Kunjo said after the event. “I’m definitely very emotional right now.”

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 2028 pin on behalf of Greg Adams, Chairman and CEO of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals. Quyen Ngo-Metzger, MD, MPH, Interim Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, introduced faculty members, clerkship directors, and site directors, who presented students with their white coats.

The Physician Oath was introduced by Jonathan A. Finkelstein, MD, MPH, Senior Associate Dean for Research and Scholarship, and it was read by Jose M. Barral, MD, PhD, Chair of Biomedical Science; H. Carrie Chen, MD, PhD, Associate Dean for Medical Education Research and Scholarship; Paul J. Chung, MD, MS, Chair of Health Systems Science and Acting Co-Director for Health Equity Research Core; Deepu Gowda, MD, MPH, MS, Assistant Dean for Medical Education; and Carla Lupi, MD, Associate Dean for Assessment and Evaluation.

The Class of 2028 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: Grace D. Achepohl, Jacqueline Joy Masehi-Lano, Bikal R. Sharma, Francesca Dailla Solange Kamwa Dzukou, Maxwell Joseph Probst, and S. Shamtej Singh Rana. The ceremony concluded with a video montage in which members of the Class of 2028 thanked their families and friends for their support.

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 future doctors an opportunity to reflect on their fundamental responsibility to heal, protect, and care for their patients.

“It’s a big honor. It felt really good to put on the white coat, especially here at my top choice, Kaiser Permanente,” said Noah Banoub. “This is the end of one journey and the beginning of a new journey, and I’m happy to be here.”

Dean Dalrymple said the White Coat Ceremony is an ideal time for students to pause and celebrate the hard work they’ve done to reach this milestone, “And then to think about the incredible journey that they have before them.” 

“Take this moment,” he said. “Honor this moment. Reflect on this. The next four years, and the next several years of your life, is going to be a wonderful journey. It’s going to turn out more beautifully than you ever imagined.”