Students celebrated at the White Coat Ceremony.

One hundred forty medical students who constitute the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s Class of 2022 were welcomed into the medical profession on Thursday, September 13, at the school’s symbolic White Coat Ceremony in Stern Auditorium. Surrounded by family members, alumni, and Mount Sinai Health System leaders, the students proudly received their white coats and recited an oath they had written to accept the privilege and responsibility being bestowed upon them as society’s future physicians.

Peter W. May, Chairman, Boards of Trustees, Mount Sinai Health System, told the audience that the medical school was unique in that it was founded 50 years ago by a hospital, rather than a large university. “What we care about is creating research that gets applied to the clinic as quickly as possible to help our patients,” he said. “You are receiving your white coats today because your clinical training starts right at the beginning of your medical education. At Mount Sinai, you will have the opportunity to learn and work with brilliant professors in math, computer science, engineering, and the physical sciences. This interdisciplinary collaboration extends the boundaries of what modern medicine can achieve.”

Kenneth L. Davis, MD, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Mount Sinai Health System, encouraged the students to take the time to explore the many research and clinical opportunities the school has to offer in order to find an area of medicine they love. He said Mount Sinai’s commitment to helping students find their passion is the same as it was nearly 50 years ago, when he entered the school’s second class.

During the ceremony, students Dillan Villavisanis, left, and Vivek Vishwanath received their white coats from Medical Education Faculty Advisors Olanrewaju Dokun, MD, left, and Caroline Cromwell, MD.

“You have earned the right to be here. You have the capacity to be great,” Dr. Davis told the students. “Let today be remembered as the day you committed to achieve that greatness by searching for that part of this worthy profession that lights an unquenchable fire in you. That takes time.”

Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System, said the high academic achievements, skills, and interests among the Class of 2022 were evidence of their potential to become the “next generation of brilliant physicians, transformative scientists, and leaders who will shape the future of education, biomedical research, and delivery of high quality care to all Americans.”

Dr. Charney said the ability to change the field of medicine would belong to only a talented few, including the Class of 2022. This, he said, brought to mind the famous 1940 speech by the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, who said of the Royal Air Force during the Battle of Britain, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”

The white coat, said Dr. Charney, comes with “serious responsibilities. Patients will ask you for answers, and sometimes the answers are not forthcoming. Class of 2022, there are only 140 of you, yet there are so many patients in our local community, our city, our country, our world who are going to need you.”

On the occasion of its 50th anniversary this year, the Icahn School of Medicine inaugurated the first Hans Popper, MD, PhD, Keynote Speaker at the White Coat Ceremony, and extended this honor to 2009 Mount Sinai alumnus Pooja Mehta, MD, MSHP, Assistant Professor, Obstetrics and Gynecology at Louisiana State University School of Medicine. Dr. Mehta also serves as Director of Women’s Health Policy and interim Chief Medical Officer of Medicaid for the state of Louisiana.

Dr. Mehta relayed the story of a very ill woman she once treated who taught her how important it is to understand the patient. She said, this woman—whose tragic health outcome was largely preventable—ultimately led her to Louisiana where she cares for underserved women, as well as transgender and gender non-conforming individuals, “who seek self-determination in health care.”

“You will have all the tools you need when you leave here to question, to think critically, to evaluate evidence, to work in a hospital, and to work outside the four walls of a hospital,” said Dr. Mehta. “Use every drop of privilege this white coat gives you. But don’t wait too long to divest from your privilege to meet the people where they are, and—as stated in the Oath of Maimonides that I took in this room 14 years ago—to be a fellow creature in pain.”