Four years ago, the White Coat Ceremony at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine changed venues from the medical school to the Carnegie Music Hall. This was not merely a change of scenery, but a visionary idea. The new ceremony showcases the city of Pittsburgh by immersing incoming students in its cultural surroundings through live fine arts performances. Moreover, the ceremony touches the hearts of audiences through a keynote speaker’s personal, often emotional, story related to illness. This renews the idea of a White Coat Ceremony, combining community engagement with examples of what it means to be a good doctor. The idea originated with Hilda and Freddie Fu, and their generosity along with that of UPMC and the medical school’s Alumni Association, allowed for this transformation. By creating such a welcoming and memorable introduction to both the medical school and city, Pitt enables their students to go beyond classroom walls and develop into fine physicians within their community.
The University of Pittsburgh School of medicine welcomed the incoming class of 2025 on Sunday August 8, 2021. The 2021 White Coat Ceremony featured an opening ballet performance from Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre’s Madeline Gradle and Jacob Miller, a selection from Mozart’s “Divertimento” played by a string quartet from Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and Pittsburgh Opera’s Yazid Gray singing “Largo al factorum” accompanied by Karen Jeng Lin playing the piano.
Intermixed with these fine arts performances was a welcome video from Chancellor Patrick Gallagher as well as live speeches from leaders of the School of Medicine including Dean of student affairs, Alda Gonzaga; Dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion, Chenits Pettigrew; and John and Gertrude Peterson Dean for the School of Medicine, Anantha Shekhar. Following Dr. Shekhar’s speech, keynote speaker Dr. Kurt Weiss shared a heartfelt story of his experiences surviving osteosarcoma in his youth and how his experiences motivated his passion for medicine and drove him to his current role as a physician scientist, where he provides care to patients battling bone cancer and directs the musculoskeletal oncology laboratory. Finally, the incoming class of medical students joined the Chairman of Orthopaedic Surgery Dr. Freddie Fu in reciting the Hippocratic oath. This group of enthusiastic, talented, and passionate students now embark on their journeys to become excellent physicians within their community while at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
