The White Coat Ceremony formally marks the start of students on their medical career path. On Friday, July 31, the class of 2030 of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai gathered at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan to receive their trainee coats.
The incoming class is joining a field that is undergoing transformation, Eric J. Nestler, MD, PhD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, told the students.
“Preparing for that responsibility is the reason why you’re undertaking this great intellectual journey into biomedicine—a journey at a moment of extraordinary change,” said Dr. Nestler. “We are at an inflection point for both medicine and medical education.”
Artificial intelligence (AI) is not only redefining the limits of what physicians and researchers can understand about the human body, but also changing how students learn and retrieve information.
“Mastering medicine today is substantially different from what was required for my generation, but an extensive, deep understanding of biology in health and disease will always be essential,” noted Dr. Nestler.
Another thing that stays consistent is the human element, said David C. Thomas, MD, MS, MHPE, Dean for Medical Education, Icahn School of Medicine, in an interview after the ceremony.
“There’s a lot of change now in medicine. The technology is changing. We have AI coming in and changing” the field, Dr. Thomas said. “However, the stable part of that is going to be the person, and so that’s the human side of the medical student’s professional identity as they participate in the changes that are going on in the technology, in the way we practice medicine.”
Class of 2030 By the Numbers
130
Class size
7,687
Number of traditional entry applications
10
Students with a master’s
16
First-generation college students
519
Median MCAT score of class
3.95
Median GPA of class
For many students, donning the white coat is a continuation of their undergraduate studies. But for some who decided to switch fields to medicine, that garment represents a big shift in their professional identities.
“As I settled into my job as an engineer, I looked back at my most meaningful memories during college and noticed they often involved patient interactions,” said Mihir Dixit, class of 2030, who had experience as an EMT in his undergraduate days and worked at an AI health care startup before entering the Icahn School of Medicine.
Lily Steckel, class of 2030, said, “While I started my professional career in management consulting, medicine has long been ingrained in my life—I grew up with doctors in my family. However, it wasn’t until the end of college when I began to see how my own path would lead me” toward medicine.
Click on each student’s name to read more about their career shifts to medicine, and what becoming a doctor means to them.
Mihir Dixit (left), volunteered as an EMT during his time as an undergraduate student. He became an engineer at an AI startup before switching to medicine.
What led you to decide to switch to medicine?
I started my undergrad considering medicine, actually, and entered the University of California, San Diego as a biology major and became an EMT to determine whether I would enjoy working in a medical environment. While I loved being an EMT, I experienced my first loss of a patient, and spent some time thinking about how I could prevent that outcome in the future.
I eventually switched my major to bioengineering in hopes of making medical devices that could assist health care providers as they treat patients. Engineering became one of my primary interests throughout college, and the prospect of a career where I could impact patient populations with the technology I would create was incredibly enticing.
I then pursued a Master in Personalized Medicine and Applied Engineering at Yale University, during which I helped develop an AI model that predicted patients’ response to lung cancer treatments based on their PET scans. After graduating, I worked as an engineer at an AI health care startup for one year, collaborating with physicians to make large language models safer in patient-facing and clinical environments.
There were a few moments that led me on the path to medicine, but I only realized they were definitive long after they had passed. As I settled into my job as an engineer, I looked back at my most meaningful memories during college and noticed they often involved patient interactions—seeing a cardiologist review every patient chart the night before seeing the patient the next day; watching an Emergency Department physician calmly resolve a quarrel between a patient and their family members.
I realized that while innovation was important as an engineer, physicians have a unique impact on a patient’s life beyond medical treatment. I wanted to combine my engineering knowledge with the reach of a physician, and decided to switch to medicine.
What was it like for you to treat patients as an EMT?
Being in the back of an ambulance with a patient—often in a one-on-one setting—means you bear the responsibility of their care for the duration of that ride. It lends to conversations where patients confide in you about their fears, concerns, and sometimes just whatever’s on their mind.
I felt honored to be there for my patients in some of the worst times of their lives, and for me, that privilege was the most memorable aspect of being an EMT.
Was it difficult making the switch to apply to medical schools?
My biggest concern was learning how to memorize so many seemingly random facts. But I quickly realized through talking to professors that it’s actually a lot of systems-based thinking, which I had already been used to as an engineer!
And because I had a biology-adjacent major in undergrad, the MCAT exam and prerequisite courses for matriculation had a slight overlap, so many of the requirements were thankfully already met. While I didn’t have any physician mentors in my immediate family, I’m thankful to have had research supervisors who were physicians who served as mentors for me during the application process.
What made you decide to apply to the Icahn School of Medicine?
It’s hard to beat getting your medical education in New York City. I was excited by the notion of training in one of the most diverse cities in the world and wanted to learn how to interact with and understand the needs of a wide variety of patient populations.
Mount Sinai also has one of the strongest computational research departments in the country, and after reading some of the research they had been publishing in the digital health field, it became one of my top choices when applying.
What are you looking forward to as you begin your medical career?
I’m looking forward to learning medical concepts in depth. I find it satisfying when I finally gain an extensive understanding of an entire system or pathway and everything “clicks,” and it seems like my journey through medicine will have a lot of those moments.
I’m also excited to be able to do more for patients—the biggest gripe I had with being an EMT was that I didn’t have the knowledge or skills to do more for them. As for a particular direction, I’m considering cardiology or emergency medicine as potential specialties, but that’s not set in stone.
Lily Steckel (third from right, back row), with her starting cohort of peers during her time as a consultant. Her experience volunteering at a mother/baby postpartum floor helped cement her decision to switch fields to medicine.
What led you to decide to switch to medicine?
After graduating from Dartmouth College, I moved to San Francisco to work at Oliver Wyman, a management consulting firm that specializes in the financial services sector, and I worked as a consultant for two years.
During my time at Oliver Wyman, I started volunteering at the California Pacific Medical Center, a regional hospital in San Francisco. I worked on the mother/baby postpartum floor and was in charge of patient discharges and setting up rooms. That experience confirmed my decision to apply to postbaccalaureate programs to fulfill my dream of becoming a doctor.
While I started my professional career in management consulting, medicine has long been ingrained in my life—I grew up with doctors in my family. However, it wasn’t until the end of college when I began to see how my own path would lead me there.
My major in college was quantitative social science, which emphasized the use of quantitative data to explain real-world social issues. I had an interest in health-related topics, and studied the pandemic’s effect on alcohol use among college students for my thesis. My research found that the pandemic’s isolation affected students’ drinking habits once they returned to campus, and through open conversations with my peers, I realized my sense of purpose hinges on helping in tangible, personal ways.
As I learned about the social dimensions of health, I was also drawn to understanding the biological underpinnings of disease, curious to learn not just how people are affected by it, but also why. This amalgamation of scientific curiosity and dedication to service led me to apply to medical schools.
How did having doctors in your family help with your decision to switch fields?
My dad and uncle are doctors, as was my grandfather. I was able to seek advice from all three during my pivot to medicine. Once I decided to pursue medical school, I immediately knew I had made the right decision.
When I would think about my future career as a doctor, I felt a sense of security because I knew I had landed on the right path.
Was it difficult making the switch to apply to medical schools?
I started the Postbaccalaureate Premedical Program at Bryn Mawr College, where I completed all of the scientific requirements for medical school in one year.
And to further prepare for my time in medicine, this past year, I worked as a research assistant for the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes at Weill Cornell Medicine.
What made you decide to apply to the Icahn School of Medicine?
The Icahn School of Medicine stood out to me for its tight-knit community and happy demeanor among the students. I was also drawn to the school being born out of a hospital instead of an academic institution because it meant I would walk the same halls as patients and physicians every day.
Now that I’m here, it’s clear to me that Mount Sinai is a unique place to pursue my medical degree. The access to research and clinical opportunities is unmatched, and the student body is collaborative and supportive, which is exactly what I wanted in a medical school.
What are you looking forward to as you begin your medical career?
I’m most interested in pursuing a surgical oncology specialty. My research experience this past year at the International Center for the Study of Breast Cancer Subtypes at Weill Cornell Medicine involved investigating racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer, focusing on why women of western sub-Saharan African descent are more likely to develop aggressive tumors than white women.
I would love to pursue a career in surgical oncology, where I can combine research on breast cancer disparities with the opportunity to care for women throughout their treatment.