White Coat Ceremony moved to April 1
After the previous event was postponed due to inclement weather in the area, the McGovern Medical School Class of 2027 students will participate in the annual White Coat Ceremony at 1 p.m. on April 1 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts (800 Bagby St.).
A ticket distributed by a McGovern Medical School student is required for entry. A live stream of the event will also be available courtesy of the McGovern Medical School Facebook and YouTube pages.
The welcoming address for the White Coat Ceremony will be delivered by Margaret McNeese, MD, Ransom Lummis Family Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and vice dean of Admissions and Student Affairs. The keynote speaker for the event is Erin Furr-Stimming, MD, professor and Memorial Hermann Chair in the Department of Neurology.
The investiture of the white coats will be led by LaTanya Love, MD, executive vice president for Student Affairs and dean of Education, while Sheela Lahoti, MD, associate dean for Admissions and Student Affairs, will lead the administration of the Oath of Hippocrates.
Founded in 1993 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the White Coat Ceremony officially signifies the first-year medical student’s entrance into the medical profession. At the ceremony, incoming students hear from guest speakers before receiving their white coats, donned with the McGovern Medical School logo. They then participate in the most important element of the ceremony, the Hippocratic Oath, which acknowledges a central obligation of caring for patients.
The 240 students composing the current class of first-year students featured an average MCAT score of 512 and a cumulative grade point average of 3.88. The class consists of 231 students from the state of Texas, as well as six other states. In total, 48 undergraduate majors are represented in the Class of 2027 from 71 undergraduate colleges. The youngest student of the class is 19 years old, while the oldest student entered medical school at the age of 41.