Students entering Marshall University’s Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine will be welcomed in a White Coat Ceremony scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 9, in the Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center on 5th Avenue in Huntington.
Sixty-six students will receive white coats that symbolize their future profession and take a physician’s oath to provide skilled and compassionate care. The coats are purchased by School of Medicine alumni and friends who also have generously donated funding for book purchases and medical instruments. For the sixth year, Drs. Joseph and Omayma Touma have donated funds to provide each student with a stethoscope.
In a departure from years past, some students will be “cloaked” by a family member or friend who has a doctoral degree in health care. The average age of this year’s incoming class is 24.8 years. Twenty-nine percent are first generation college graduates.
Dr. Joseph Evans, interim chairman of University Pediatrics and a 1982 JCESOM graduate, is this year’s special guest speaker.
Who: Joan C. Edwards School of Medicine Class of 2016
What: White Coat Ceremony
When: 7 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 9
Where: Joan C. Edwards Performing Arts Center
This is an invitation-only event, but media are welcome to attend and cover.
