Med Students Welcomed With White Coat Ceremony

134 medical students slid their arms into white coats for the first time on Friday as they stood before their friends and family, marking the first steps of their careers in medicine.

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School held its 20th annual White Coat Ceremony in the courtyard of Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital, an annual ceremony that is held at the end of orientation week for first year medical students entering the school.

Jennifer Forbes, spokesperson for UMDNJ, said the ceremony is meant to promote the importance between physician and patient, and remind students of the importance of compassion and humanism in the profession.

Dr. Peter S. Amenta, Dean of the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, said the students were entering into a program of much support from the faculty and staff, and would be expected to join the school's high-achieving ranks among their peers.

Last year's graduating class had a , Amenta said.

The ceremony also featured the introduction of three new advising colleges within the medical school, named after beloved and influential educators affiliated with the medical school who have passed away.

Forbes said that faculty and staff will be assigned to small groups of students for the purpose of mentoring and and supporting them through their academic careers. The students in each college are also encouraged to support and aid each other through their studies, she said.

The colleges were named after Dr. Pamela C. Champe, an assistant professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences; Dr. Parvin Saidi, an assistant professor of medicine; and Dr. Robert L. Trelstad, a professor of pathology and laboratory medicine.

Additionally, 18 students in the school's class of 2013 were honored for their coming inductions into the school's Gold Humanism Honor Society in the spring.

Christina Decesaris, a second-year student at the UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, and one of the student coordinators of the ceremony, told the incoming class that the moment of putting the coat on is one that they will remember.

"(This is) the first true day of journey to becoming a physician," she said.