July 25, 2024
The School of Health Professions Physician Assistant Program’s class of 2025 earned their white coats at the White Coat Ceremony Friday, July 19 in the Cullen Auditorium on Baylor College of Medicine’s main campus.
The traditional ceremony marked first-year students’ transition from the 13-month classroom training into the 18-month clinical setting.
Valerie DeGregorio, associate program director and assistant professor of the Physician Assistant Program, kickstarted the ceremony by delivering a speech informing attendees about the hard work, dedication and sacrifice the students experienced to receive their white coats.
“There are several milestones in the rite of passage from PA Program applicant to a new entry-level healthcare provider,” DeGregorio said. “Each (student) has attained several of these milestones. It has been our privilege as a faculty to watch (them) grow through these.”
Other members of the program delivered speeches, including the ceremony’s honored speaker Dr. Jonnae Atkinson, medical director of the Physician Assistant Program. Atkinson compared the practice of medicine to a hurricane and assured students they will overcome obstacles during clinical rotations.
“As you take the next step on your journey, I encourage you to embrace the spirit of the hurricane: the strength, the adaptability and the profound impact,” Atkinson said. “Remember that you have the power to navigate all the challenges and uncertainties that will come your way.”
After the students received their white coats, they recited the Hippocratic Oath administered by Kathy Erdman, assistant professor in the Physician Assistant Program, to pledge their dedication to the profession.
The program also awarded the Susan Mortensen Turley Endowed Scholarship to Lindsy Kuruvilla-Allison. Alumnus Bruce Mortensen (’14) established the award in 2017 to memorialize his daughter, Susan Mortensen Turley, who died of cancer.
The award recognizes a first-year physician assistant student who, like Turley, demonstrated outstanding commitment to community service. Students are nominated by their classmates for the award.
Watch the full ceremony below.
