Aug. 2, 2021
Students in the University of Missouri School of Medicine class of 2025 recently gathered in Jesse Hall for their White Coat Ceremony.
“The white coat signifies a covenant to knowledge, skills, mutual respect and humanity,” said Steven Zweig, Hugh E. and Sarah D. Stephenson Dean of the MU School of Medicine. “It’s a symbol that is universally recognized and carries with it a commitment to patient-centered care and clinical excellence.”
The School of Medicine continues to become more diverse, and the incoming class is the most diverse in the school’s history. A goal of the MU medical school and others across the nation is to increase enrollment of individuals who belong to racial and ethnic populations that are underrepresented in the medical profession relative to their numbers in the general population.
“As a land-grant institution, the University of Missouri takes seriously its responsibility to train Missourians and to prepare physicians to care for Missourians,” Zweig said. “We’re proud to be the state’s leading educator of physicians who practice in our state, and I’m pleased our incoming class reflects the diversity of our state and nation.”
At the ceremony, the students received their first white coats, the most common symbol of the medical profession for more than a century. The annual event encourages new medical students to begin their education by upholding the highest values and standards of their profession.
