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Initiated in 1994 as one of the first in the country, Rutgers RWJMS’s White Coat Ceremony began the year after the Arnold P. Gold Foundation created it to not only welcome students to health care practice, but to elevate the value of humanism as the core of health care. Today, nearly all medical schools across the United States have adopted this tradition, and it remains a cherished rite of passage for students nationwide.
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, which was also one of the first to the tradition, expects to welcome more than 170 students at the Barbara and Norman Seiden White Coat Ceremony on Aug. 4.
Amy Murtha, an accomplished researcher and specialist in maternal-fetal medicine who begins as the RWJMS dean on Aug. 15, gave the keynote address Friday.
“A career in medicine is full of amazing highs and challenging lows, but your ability to make a difference and have an impact is immeasurable,” she told her first class. “To become the best physician and best version of you, soak up every experience to develop your skills as a doctor. Appreciate what you love, whether it’s a person, a project or a skill.
“Remember the moments, like this one, that bring you joy, pride, fulfillment, and you will find what brings you passion. That passion will give you the ability and the drive to achieve and make an immeasurable impact on the world around you.”
The RWJMS class is diverse, representing a variety of cultures and ethnicities. Thirty-six percent is Asian, 30 percent white, 13 percent Black or African American, 13 percent Hispanic/Latinx and 8 percent other or undeclared. Sixteen percent is international, with 27 born abroad and more than half speaking another language at the advanced or native level, including 17-plus languages other than English.
Regarding gap years, nearly three-quarters of the class took one or more years off before starting medical school, with 26 percent having just graduated and 25.5 percent graduating three or more years ago. Of the 63 institutions represented among the class’s undergraduate degrees, 31 percent were earned at Rutgers, while 17 percent were granted by Ivy League schools.
Twenty-five percent of the class already has a master’s or doctoral degree.
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