New Medical Students Receive White Coats in Traditional Ceremony

The 145 medical students entering Albany Medical College donned their white coats for the first time on Aug. 4 during the College’s White Coat Ceremony, held at the Kitty Carlisle Hart Theatre in The Egg at the Empire State Plaza. The students also recited the Declaration of Geneva, a modern-day physicians’ oath.

Selected from more than 13,000 applicants, the Class of 2027 comes from 24 states, including 45 students from New York.

Forty of the new students graduated from one of Albany Medical College’s joint degree programs at Siena College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and Union College. Thirty-two are entering with master’s degrees, while the majority have undergraduate degrees in biologic sciences.

“The donning of the white coat is symbolic of the honor and responsibility being entrusted in these students as they take their first steps toward entering the medical profession,” said Alan S. Boulos, MD, ’94, The Lynne and Mark D. Groban, MD ’67 Distinguished Dean of Albany Medical College. “We are pleased to welcome this next generation of physicians to Albany Medical College, and look forward to teaching them to become compassionate, skilled physicians.”

The ceremony wraps up a week of orientation activities that also included the annual Day of Service and Community Engagement, when students volunteered in various community gardens, food kitchens, and at other agencies throughout the region.