Indiana University School of Medicine’s newest class will take part in a time-honored ceremony Friday when the future doctors don the traditional white medical coats and repeat in unison the Physician’s Oath as family and friends observe.
During the ceremony, IU School of Medicine faculty will assist 364 medical students into the white coats, which marks the matriculation into the medical community and serves as a symbol of the professional attitudes and ethical behaviors that all physicians in training must portray. Upon receiving their coats, students will find a note card in their pocket—a token of advice and encouragement from IU School of Medicine alumni—referred to as a Pearl of Wisdom.
This year’s ceremony will begin at 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 4 at the Hilbert Circle Theatre, located at 45 Monument Circle.
Jay L. Hess, MD, PhD, MHSA, dean of IU School of Medicine, vice president for university clinical affairs and Walter J. Daly Professor, will welcome the incoming students and their families and deliver the keynote address.
Friday’s event wraps a week of orientation that included medical service-learning projects held Wednesday at the Salvation Army, Gleaners Food Bank of Indiana, Outside the Box, Inc. and Crispus Attucks Medical Magnet High School. These activities allow new students to meet their new colleagues and learn more about the institution as they enroll in the largest medical school in the nation.
IU medical students are assigned to one of nine regional campuses where they receive their four years of training: Bloomington, Evansville, Fort Wayne, Gary, Indianapolis, Muncie, South Bend, Terre Haute and West Lafayette.