AUA’s White Coat Ceremony: A Night to Remember
The American University of Antigua (AUA) College of Medicine celebrated the Fall 2009 semester’s White Coat ceremony on December 12, 2009, at the Precision Centre in Antigua. The ceremony honored the semester’s departing students who have successfully completed AUA’s Basic Science program, and will return to the United States to begin their fifth semester in clinical medicine in Brooklyn, Miami, Staten Island, Michigan, or Atlanta. Afterwards, these students will sit for the U.S. Medical Licensure Exam and complete their clinical rotations during semesters six through ten.
AUA Executive Dean Dr. Peter Bell congratulated the departing class and advised them never to forget the foundation of basic science, because it is important at every level in medicine. Like the outgoing class, Dr. Bell is also moving on to the U.S. next semester, where he will assume the position of AUA’s Executive Clinical Dean.
AUA Provost Dr. Seymour Schwartz was the keynote speaker for the evening. He explained that physicians in the 1900s originally wore the white coat to lessen the spread of sepsis. However, now it symbolizes a stepping-stone for students’ achievements into the medical community. As a message of inspiration, he signed off with one of his favorite quotes from The Fiddler on the Roof: ‘Our great writers have given us words of wisdom to be used when hardship must be faced. Life obliges us with hardship, so the words of wisdom should not go to waste.’
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After these inspiring speeches, Dr. Peter Bell, Dr. Hani Morcos, President Neal Simon, Dr. Madeline Fraser, and Dr. Seymour Schwartz performed the ceremonial donning of the white coats on all members of the outgoing class.
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The Chair and Professor of the Biochemistry & Genetics department, Dr. Andreas Lueck, followed the ceremony by presenting the evening’s academic achievement awards. “This class is academically the strongest thus far, and the university is giving out six academic achievement awards for the first time in AUA’s history,” stated Dr. Lueck. The honorees were Nicklaus Bradley, Abhilash Chutei, Izabela Galdyn, Bindu Padmanabha, Edward Pegg, and Nhi Tran. Recipients were honored for their impeccable grade point averages as well as their willingness to offer help to their fellow classmates.
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Dr. Reza Sanii, Chair of the Physiology department and Michael Dewsnap, Assistant Professor for the Educational Enhancement department, along with Dr. Peter Bell and Dr. Hani Morcos then presented Ms. Annamarie Arias with a special award for her all-around achievement and excellence at AUA. Ms. Arias was recognized for her high grades, her position as head TA of several subjects, and her strong commitment to community service projects.
The 4th semester class president, Andrew Chacko closed the evening with a familiar quote to these students departing to the United States, taken from Dr. B.R. Krishnanand, Professor and Chair of the Pathology department: “If (Harvard medical students) can do it, then you can do it!”
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