New doctors-to-be don white coats at WCMC-Q ceremony
September, 2012
The students pose for a photograph with the dean and senior faculty members during The White Coat Ceremony
The next generation of hopeful young doctors entering the 2012 medical class took their first steps into the world of medicine at the 9th annual White Coat Ceremony at the Hamad Bin Khalifa University Student Center.
There are 39 students in the medical class and for those able to participate in the ceremony - considered to be a traditional rite of passage - it was their first chance as new doctors-in-training to put on the symbolic emblem of their new roles as physicians, their white coats.
Dr. Javaid I. Sheikh, dean of WCMC-Q, said: “The white coat is a universal symbol of science and the art of healing. As the students don this mantle of the medical profession, they are demonstrating their lifelong commitment to the practice of medicine: to be excellent in science, to be compassionate, and to maintain the honor and dignity of the profession.”
All but two of the entering students are graduates of the WCMC-Q Pre-medical Program and five are from Qatar. In his welcome address, Dean Sheikh lauded the many accomplishments of the students during their premedical years, such as their participation in the local Qatar Foundation community through activities such as LeaderShape and the Residence Life committees. Some have volunteered for the Global Health Club while many of them worked on biomedical research projects conducted through Qatar Foundation’s Undergraduate Research Experience Program and the Summer Student Research Program at the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York.
The White Coat ceremony event was the culmination of three days of orientation for the new medical students. The event was attended by student’s families and friends as well as WCMC-Q faculty and administrators and was followed by a reception.
