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Class of 2029 dons white coats

By Roman Petrowski, Office of Communications
McGovern Medical School Class of 2029 Students at the White Coat Ceremony

Students from the McGovern Medical School Class of 2029 recite the Oath of Hippocrates after receiving their white coats. (Photo by Dwight Andrews/Office of Public Affairs)

McGovern Medical School officially welcomed 240 students from the Class of 2029 during its annual White Coat Ceremony on Jan. 23 at the Hobby Center for the Performing Arts.

The ceremony opened with a welcome from Sheela Lahoti, MD, vice dean for Admissions and Student Affairs, who greeted the first-year students and their families and formally welcomed the class into the McGovern Medical School community.

“There are no shortcuts in this journey you’re undertaking. However, the faculty, administration, and especially your friends and family are here to support you along the way,” Lahoti said. “Your classmates will be future colleagues and lifelong friends, and we applaud you as you move forward in your medical journey.”

Dean Latanya J. Love, MD, the H. Wayne Hightower Distinguished Professor in the Medical Sciences, introduced the keynote speaker, Faith Atai, MD, associate professor in the Department of Internal Medicine. Atai reflected on receiving her first white coat, recalling feelings of fear alongside excitement and anticipation.

“Today your life will change forever,” Atai said. “You will formally don the white coat, thereby committing to one of the world’s most trusted, coveted, and demanding professions. In doing so, you commit to being a lifelong learner, teacher, confidant, mentor, and more. You commit to being the face of calm in the storm, civility in the presence of uncertainty, and support amid turmoil.”

Following the keynote address, members of the Gold Humanism Honor Society from the Class of 2026 led students in the Student Ethical Pledge. Lahoti then led the investiture of the white coats. Students gathered one by one on stage to receive their white coats from faculty members and to sign the pledge register.

The ceremony concluded with the administration of the Oath of Hippocrates, led by Erin Furr-Stimming, MD, assistant dean for Admissions and Student Affairs and Memorial Hermann Chair at the medical school. Named after Hippocrates, known as the “Father of Medicine,” the oath serves as a symbolic pledge for students and physicians to uphold ethical standards throughout their medical careers.

“Today means a lot to me because it feels like the culmination of all the work it took to get here,” said Trent Briscoe, a member of the Class of 2029. “So many people in our class have faced adversity, and it’s meaningful to see everyone make it through the first semester and continue growing as future physicians.”

Founded in 1993 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the White Coat Ceremony marks the formal entrance of first-year medical students into the medical profession.

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