ST. LOUIS – The Saint Louis University School of Medicine welcomed the next generation of physicians during the school’s 2024 White Coat Ceremony on Sunday, July 28, in St. Francis Xavier College Church. The ceremony is the official start of first-year students’ journey into medicine. 

Christine Jacobs, M.D., vice president for medical affairs and dean of SLU’s School of Medicine, addressed the audience. As representatives of many faiths, Jacobs said it was fitting to gather “in this holy place” to welcome doctors-in-training to the sacred profession of medicine. 

“There will be days when the academic rigor and workload will make you want to give up,” Jacobs recalled her earlier days as a medical student. “I was overwhelmed by the enormity of medical knowledge and the complexity of putting it all together.”

Then, Jacobs said the medical facts will start to make sense, and a patient’s experience will make it relevant as students realize their dreams of becoming doctors as she had before them. In the years ahead, Jacobs said students will see the best of humanity and experience the burden of human tragedy. Yet, they will find balance in the excitement of learning the art and science of medicine, the joy of caring for their patients, and the privilege of becoming part of a team of physicians, nurses, and other health care givers will affirm for students that they’ve found the right calling.

Tina Chen, M.D., associate dean of simulation and clinical skills and associate professor of emergency medicine, cautioned students in her keynote that they will encounter patients with any number of permutations.

“Stable and dying. Young and old. Wealthy and impoverished,” Chen said. “In this profession, your patients will need your generosity, knowledge, time, and unconditional understanding of who they are, where they came from, and the depth of their need.”

School officials say the annual event creates a psychological contract for professionalism and empathy in the practice of medicine from the start of medical training. This is symbolized by cloaking each student with a clinical white coat, the mantle of the profession.

During the ceremony, each student was called by name and donned a white coat by a physician, either from the School of Medicine or a loved one.  The event concluded with the new class reciting the Hippocratic Oath.  

“To the Class of 2028, I hope you feel different when you put that white coat on today,” said Chad Miller, M.D., professor of internal medicine and senior associate dean for undergraduate medical education, in his welcome remarks. “You carry the legacy of students and faculty who have come before you. You are now part of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine tradition.”

Class of 2028

This year, the School of Medicine received 5,809 applications and interviewed 726 applicants. The Class of 2028 consists of 80 women and 96 men, and 63% of students hail from the Midwest.  A total of 36 students are from Missouri, with another 47 from Illinois.

Almost 20% of students have relatives who are School of Medicine graduates or current and former residents, fellows, faculty or staff at SLU or SSM Health. The average MCAT score among students is 513, with an average GPA of 3.89. 

White Coat Ceremony 2024