Alumni offer words of wisdom to class of 2020 medical students
Last week, the new class of first-year medical students at Baylor College of Medicine participated in the annual White Coat Ceremony. The class of 2020 gathered in front of family, friends and Baylor faculty at Bayou City Event Center on Friday, Aug. 12 to receive their white coats and assert their commitment to the highest standards of healthcare and ethics.
See more than 100 photos from the event.
As part of a tradition, Baylor alumni purchase the white coats for new students as a way of supporting their journey to professionalism. Along with their gifts, many alumni shared words of wisdom:
“Give it a good swing.”
Perry M. White, M.D. ’53“Enjoy every day of your medical education. If you know what the next day lecture will be about, try to read about the subject the night before—then listen carefully to the lecture. If you are offered an optional lecture on medical ethics—be there. Remember the BCM Alumni are proud of you.”
Fred W. Riley, Jr., M.D. ’57“You are embarking on a singular career where you will be entrusted with the most precious gifts—lives and families. Never measure your compensation monetarily or even by great accomplishments. It should be in the gratitude and love that you see in the eyes and are told by the patients and their significant others.”
Jimmy Clay Burns, M.D. ’60 – An Old Country Physician“You will have an aha moment!”
“Be the best doctor you can be.”
Admiral Harold M. Koenig, M.D. ’66“May this White Coat launch your career as well as it did mine! Best wishes.”
J. Geoffrey Stevenson ’70“Remember to always put the interests of our patients and public above your own to warrant the trust that our patients and public so generously and trustingly give to us.”
Donald E. Wesson, M.D. ’78
Couldn’t make it to the ceremony? Watch the video below.
Read more words of wisdom from Baylor alumni.
Read more about our new students and see photos from their orientation retreat.
