White coats welcome record number of future physicians to SOM

For 186 men and women, Sunday, July 31, was a day they will long remember. On that day, they were called individually to the stage of Pfleeger Auditorium on Rowan University’s Glassboro campus where, in front of hundreds of family, friends and faculty, they put on the garment that symbolizes their acceptance into Rowan University’s School of Osteopathic Medicine.

An annual event at the medical school since 1996, the White Coat Ceremony is an emotional celebration that for many students, like Thomas Morgan, of Shamong, caps long-held dreams to help heal and comfort others.

“I’ve been looking forward to this my whole life,” said the 23-year-old, who earned an undergraduate degree in Biology from Rowan in 2015. “In a sense, today is a dream come true.”

In his remarks, Rowan University President Dr. Ali A. Houshmand welcomed the Class of 2020 to the “nearly 100,000 present and former students who are part of the Rowan University family” and extended his special thanks to the family members and loved ones who helped the students achieve this significant milestone.

The 186 future physicians who began their medical careers that day represent the best and the brightest of New Jersey’s students. The Class of 2020, which includes 137 New Jersey residents, was selected from more than 5,000 applicants. The high number of New Jersey residents (74 percent of the class) demonstrates the medical school’s commitment to train New Jersey students to become New Jersey’s physicians.

Addressing the incoming class, Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine Dean Dr. Thomas Cavalieri called the White Coat Ceremony “one of the greatest days of the school year” that marks the beginning of the students’ careers in osteopathic medicine.

Dr. Cavalieri reminded the students that their journey over the next four years will be filled with many challenges, but said, “You have chosen a great profession – a noble profession – that at its heart is service to humanity.”

Dr. Ira Monka, who earlier this year received the medical school’s Distinguished Alumni Award, delivered the keynote address, congratulating the class on the start of their life’s work to bring healing and wellness to patients, and urged the students to become part of the larger osteopathic community as they begin their medical careers.

The 186 future physicians represent the largest class in the Stratford-based medical school’s 40-year history. This entering class is the first of a two-year expansion to increase enrollment as the school races to help meet a projected shortage of physicians in New Jersey that will reach nearly 3,000 by the beginning of the next decade.

Following the presentation of the Class of 2020, the medical school introduced the Class of 2017 inductees into the Gold Humanism Honor Society, an international association dedicated to foster, recognize and support the values of humanism and professionalism in medicine. This year’s inductees included 21 students and three faculty members from the school.