University at Buffalo (UB)
Residents pose in their long white coats for a group photograph in the atrium of the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences building.
New Residents Honored at Long White Coat Ceremony
Published August 14, 2019
story by bill bruton
One hundred ninety-four new doctors donned their long white coats for the first time during a ceremony at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences building.
From Medical School Student to Doctor
The fifth annual Resident Long White Coat Ceremony — which was sponsored by the Office of Graduate Medical Education (GME) — celebrated a transition for the new residents as they donned their long white coats to replace the short white coats they received when they entered medical school.
“In our ceremony, residents and fellows assist each other in putting on their coats, symbolizing the importance of supporting each other during training and throughout their careers,” said Roseanne C. Berger, MD, senior associate dean for graduate medical education. “When you don the long white coat — embroidered with the UB logo — you become representatives of the medical profession and our institution.”
This year’s class of new residents hails from 26 different countries. They range in age from 24 to 50.
Forty of the new residents who took part in the ceremony graduated from the Jacobs School’s medical education program.
Recognition for Fellows, 2nd-Year Residents
A second white coat ceremony for the fellows and second-year residents who began the following week took place July 1. This group represents 17 countries, and class members range in age from 27 to 50. Five members of this group are Jacobs School graduates.
They have worn long white coats already — as residents of other institutions — but not here in Buffalo.
Class Has 250 Incoming Trainees New to UB
In all, there are 250 incoming trainees who are new to UB residency or fellowship. The trainee class is made up of 142 men and 108 women.
Of those, 45 (18 percent) are Jacobs School graduatess.
“As colleagues on this journey, you share with each other a commitment to carry on the noble tradition of doctoring, agreeing together to provide care with compassion, humanism and the utmost professionalism,” said Susan M. Orrange, PhD, assistant dean for education and resident services for GME.
Medical Alumni Association Provides Support
The event was planned in collaboration with UB’s Richard Sarkin Medical Emeritus Faculty Chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society, which launched the tradition of holding white coat ceremonies in the 1990s to symbolize that humanism remains at the core of all medical care.
The UB Medical Alumni Association sponsored a reception following the ceremony, adding additional support and welcome from alumni, faculty and the community.
UB is one of only 14 medical residency programs in the country that is home to a residency chapter of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.
