LUCOM Class of 2028 participates in White Coat Ceremony

A group of 162 student-doctors donned the symbol of their status as medical students and future physicians — the white coat — in the 11th annual White Coat Ceremony for the Liberty University College of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM), held over the weekend in the Center for Music and the Worship Arts, Concert Hall.

The ceremony, held at many schools across the country, is a symbolic gathering for new students as they begin their journey through medical school.

Sigmund P. Seiler, MD, interim chair of family medicine at LUCOM, welcomed the incoming class and their loved ones, noting the significance of the morning’s ceremony.

“I’m honored and excited to guide you on the many experiences you’ll have during your time here,” Seiler said. “When the Class of 2028 dons their white coats today, they accept the importance of humanism in healthcare and embark on a personal professional journey. The Class of 2028 takes the (Osteopathic Oath) today, they acknowledge the responsibilities that accompany their life’s work.”

In his keynote speech, Dean Joseph R. Johnson, DO, FACOOG (Dist) acknowledged the journey that the Class of 2028 has made to reach medical school and noted that they have not done so on their own.

“I know that you guys have worked and dreamed and sacrificed, your parents have sacrificed for you, and you have waited many, many long years to be able to get to this point,” Johnson said. “This ceremony not only recognizes this new class, but it offers a reflection for those who have supported and sacrificed for you to get to this point.”

“You have chosen a remarkable path of science and humbling servitude,” he added. “You’ll be able to assist in God’s incredible gift of life; birthing, caring for babies, caring for families, and taking care of the mind and body, but most importantly, taking care of their spirit.”

Those who are entering the four-year LUCOM program are not here by accident, Johnson said, describing the students as “the top of the top.” Saying that they are back at the figurative bottom of the new challenge that is medical school, Johnson assured the Class of 2028 that the faculty and staff at the medical school will be alongside them as they push toward completion of the program.

“God has a plan for each and every one of us, and you are going to fulfill His plan through your time here at LUCOM. You didn’t stumble your way through it, you didn’t accidentally get into the door;” he said. “You’re at the bottom of the hill here (today), but you’ve got a lot of support to help you push that boulder up the hill; from our administrative staff, from our faculty, from our housekeeping people, every single person here at Liberty.”

He said LUCOM’s student-doctors have consistently found promising futures, noting the impeccable Match rate of 100 percent that LUCOM has had two of the last three years.

Liberty University is a distinctly, unapologetically Christian university, and that extends to the medical school’s education of the world’s future doctors. In addition to receiving the training they need to become doctors with an excellent knowledge of their respective field, Johnson shared his hopes that the students will strengthen their faith in Christ (or come to know Him for the first time) and bring a heavenly mindset to their patients.

“If you are in a relationship with Jesus Christ, that we will grow you closer in that relationship through four years,” he said. “If you are not in that relationship, we want to share with you through our leadership, through our mentorship, through what we are doing that there is a hope for individuals after they eventually pass away.”

Ultimately, using Jesus as the model, the goal of LUCOM is to produce physicians who will address the health of patients’ physical and mental health and spiritual well-being.

“Christ was every type of physician you can imagine,” Johnson said. “We are designed by Him, and we engage in the efforts of healing and restoration of the physical body to be able to bring it back to fully functional health in mind, body, and spirit. As we train Champions for Christ, we follow Jesus Christ as our model because He is the ultimate physician. We want you to be physicians, but we want you to have life and to share life that is truly fully abundant.”

Continuing a tradition at LUCOM’s ceremony, 21 students were separately coated on stage by family members who are practicing or retired medical professionals carrying a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO) or Doctor of Medicine (MD), recognizing the families’ histories in the medical field.

LUCOM’s Class of 2028 represents 32 states and multiple countries. The top six states are Virginia, Florida, California, Texas, Pennsylvania, and New York. The class has 24 students who previously earned degrees from Liberty University. Additional top academic institutions represented are Cornell University, Pennsylvania State University, University of Florida, Northwestern University, University of Virginia, and four different University of California schools.

Instituted by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation in 1993, a White Coat Ceremony is celebrated at almost all medical schools in the United States, as well as in 19 other countries. As an international nonprofit organization, the foundation works with physicians in training and in practice, as well as other members of the healthcare community, to instill a culture of respect, dignity, and compassion for patients and practitioners.

Watch LUCOM’s White Coat Ceremony and view other photos on LUCOM’s Facebook page.