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70 Doctors-in-Training at The University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School Receive White Coats
Release Date: 1/12/2023
On Saturday, January 7, 2023, The University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School held its 13th annual White Coat Ceremony, a rite of passage for medical students held to emphasize the importance of compassionate patient care from the start of medical training. During the event, 70 physicians-in-training received their white coats and were honored with Humanism in Medicine pins – a visual symbol displayed on the lapel of each white coat to remind students to keep empathy at the center of clinical practice.
Yolangel (Yogi) Hernandez Suarez, MD MBA FACOG, Senior Associate Dean for Student Affairs at FIU Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine, served as the keynote speaker. Dr. Hernandez Suarez, a healthcare leader in Miami for over 20 years, has held positions in private, public, academic, and hospital settings. She spent her career building value for patients, providers, and learners through public- private partnerships, inclusive practice models, and community relationships.
The ceremony concluded with a recitation of the Ochsner Clinical School Oath, which serves as the official start to the second phase of the UQ Ochsner Medical Degree program focused on clinical experiences.
“The white coat is a symbol used to express and affirm a fundamental belief in a caring, professional medical system,” said Ronald Amedee, MD, Dean of Medical Education, Director of The University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School. “Many patients now view the white coat as a ‘cloak of compassion’ and a symbol of the caring and hope they expect to receive from their physicians. The University of Queensland Ochsner Clinical School is proud to carry on this tradition and share in this momentous occasion as our students continue their journeys to become physicians.”
Medical students from UQ Ochsner Clinical School who received their white coats are encouraged to participate in community projects facilitated by the Ochsner Medical Student Association (OMSA). Programs include Walk with a Future Doc, a national non-profit that encourages healthy physical activity in people of all ages; Ochsner’s “Save-A-Voice” ALS Voice Banking team, made up of students who volunteer their time to help patients with newly diagnosed ALS record their voice; and The UQ STAR mentorship program, in which the UQ Ochsner Clinical School students mentor a select cohort of high school seniors by teaching clinical examination skills and other medical knowledge.
For more information on the UQ Ochsner Clinical School, visit https://ochsner.uq.edu.au.
