One-hundred-forty first-year students from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai symbolically marked the start of their medical education by receiving white coats and stethoscopes, and reciting a student oath at the 16th annual White Coat Ceremony, held recently in Stern Auditorium.
“Our profession is entering a transformative and inspiring era, as major advances in science, technology, and medicine unfold,” said Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and President for Academic Affairs of Mount Sinai Health System. “I encourage the Class of 2017 to embrace these advances, to build upon them, to learn from one another, and to be dreamers. We want you to achieve what now seems impossible.”
The keynote speaker was Angela Diaz, MD, MPH, Jean C. and James W. Crystal Professor, Department of Pediatrics, and Preventive Medicine, and Director, Mount Sinai Adolescent Health Center. “You will learn as much from interacting with patients, as you do from reading,” she told the students. “You will be a physician, but at times, you will need to take on additional roles as psychologist, social worker, sociologist, facilitator, advocate, and much more. The white coat represents a promise to tirelessly promote the health and well-being of all people.”
Speakers also included Peter W. May, Chairman, Boards of Trustees, Mount Sinai Health System; Kenneth L. Davis, MD, Chief Executive Officer and President, Mount Sinai Health System; David Muller, MD, Dean for Medical Education, and Marietta and Charles C. Morchand Chair in Medical Education; and Peter Gliatto, MD, Associate Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education and Student Affairs.