UTMB School of Medicine to welcome class of 2015 in white coat ceremony

GALVESTON — More than 200 members of the incoming class of medical students at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston will receive white coats in a ceremony that welcomes them into the medical profession.

The highlight of the ceremony, at 10 a.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, at Levin Hall on the UTMB campus, will be when the 230 members of the class of 2015 don their white coats for the first time.

“This ceremony symbolically marks the beginning of a person’s medical career,” said Dr. Donald S. Prough, interim vice president and dean of the School of Medicine.  “It’s a significant milestone on the path to becoming a physician.”

Dr. Michael C. Boyars, a professor in the department of internal medicine, is the keynote speaker and will present “The real truth about medical school – Osler and your mom were right.”

Several student and faculty awards also will be presented during the ceremony.

The white coat ceremony was introduced to U.S. medical schools in 1993 at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. The white coat ceremony was started at UTMB in 1996.