WVSOM holds White Coat Ceremony celebrating aspiring physicians

LEWISBURG, WV (LOOTPRESS) – First-year West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine students participated in WVSOM’s White Coat Ceremony on Friday after seven weeks of classes.

A rite of passage indicating students’ ascent into the medical profession, the ceremony represents a commitment to serving others and the upholding of the highest possible care standards in the treating of patients.

West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine alumnus and Class of 2017 graduate, Miles Medina, D.O., acted as keynote speaker for the White Coat Ceremony. Medina serves as associate medical director of the emergency department as well as clinical director of Atlanta’s Piedmont Henry Hospital observation unit in the Stockbridge, GA. suburb.

“I remember being awestruck at the recognition, the prestige, the respect,” said Medina of the first white coat ceremony he had attended – that of his sister. “I was so eager to get a coat of my own. I watched as she flourished in her career, and I became inspired.

During his remarks, Medina encouraged medical students to proceed with confidence as they prepare to navigate medical school.

“Today marks a monumental step where you take the first of many toward your commitment to medicine,” he said. “You have worked tirelessly to get where you are today. You’ve prepared yourselves for this moment and the journey ahead. You may not realize it, but you sit in a place where thousands of successful graduates have started.”

WVSOM President, James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., delivered introductory comments for the ceremony, making note of WVSOM’s status as a leader in medical education and how that distinction was made possible through the work of those who founded the institution over fifty years ago.

“Fifty years later, we’ve populated small towns and cities throughout the state with highly competent, caring, dedicated physicians who serve their communities,” he said during the White Coat Ceremony. “We also are populating communities throughout Appalachia and beyond. We have WVSOM alumni in every state of the union, practicing in every specialty and subspecialty.”

Students also heard from WVSOM Chief Academic Officer, Linda Boyd, D.O., who informed students that they represent a trust and confidence which they will soon earn from patients.

“You walked into this room today as medical students, but when you don the white coat, you become a professional,” she said, addressing White Coat Ceremony participants. “ WVSOM holds high expectations for you as does society, and I know you won’t let us down.