WVSOM White Coat 2024

White Coat Ceremony celebrates 221 aspiring physicians

After seven weeks of classes, first-year students at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) spent an afternoon away from their busy academic schedule for an important milestone. The school’s White Coat Ceremony took place Sept. 13, celebrating the first step in 221 students’ paths to becoming physicians.

The ceremony, a tradition at many medical schools nationwide, is a rite of passage that marks students’ entry into the medical profession. The white coats are more than just attire; they are symbols of the commitment to serve others and uphold the highest standards of care in treating patients.

As members of the class crossed the stage to have their coats placed around their shoulders, they were applauded by family members, friends and WVSOM faculty and staff.

Miles Medina, D.O., a WVSOM Class of 2017 alumnus, served as keynote speaker. Medina, who is associate medical director of the emergency department and clinical director of the observation unit at Piedmont Henry Hospital in the Atlanta suburb of Stockbridge, Ga., said his invitation to speak at the event made him think of the first White Coat Ceremony he attended — his sister’s.

“I remember being awestruck at the recognition, the prestige, the respect,” Medina said. “I was so eager to get a coat of my own. I watched as she flourished in her career, and I became inspired.”

Medina was born and raised in suburban Chicago and earned a bachelor’s degree in molecular and cellular biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He worked as a paramedic prior to enrolling at WVSOM. During medical school, he served as president of his class and received WVSOM’s Student D.O. of the Year award as well as the Donald Newell Sr. Award for Outstanding Graduating Senior.

Earlier this year, he was recognized as Piedmont Henry Hospital’s Physician of the Year.

In his speech, Medina urged students to remember that they are well equipped to manage the rigors of medical school.

“Today marks a monumental step where you take the first of many toward your commitment to medicine,” he said. “You have worked tirelessly to get where you are today. You’ve prepared yourselves for this moment and the journey ahead. You may not realize it, but you sit in a place where thousands of successful graduates have started.”

He told students that medical school goes by “in the blink of an eye” and advised members of the Class of 2028 to savor the time they have together and the friendships made at the school. He spoke about his wedding, which was attended by more than 60 fellow WVSOM graduates.

“What matters most about this coat is the journey of the person who wears it, and that journey starts here. You might find one of your classmates officiating your wedding. You might throw a baby shower for one of them. You might even find the love of your life,” Medina said. “Or maybe you’ll be like me, and on your wedding day you’ll yell to your spouse, ‘This is why “Country Roads” is the last song,’ as you stare at a circle of alumni you deeply adore.”

In an introduction to the ceremony, James W. Nemitz, Ph.D., WVSOM’s president, said the school produces physicians who practice across the U.S., and noted that WVSOM’s status as a leader in medical education wouldn’t be possible without the work of the founders who created the school more than a half-century ago.

“Fifty years later, we’ve populated small towns and cities throughout the state with highly competent, caring, dedicated physicians who serve their communities,” Nemitz said. “We also are populating communities throughout Appalachia and beyond. We have WVSOM alumni in every state of the union, practicing in every specialty and subspecialty.”

Linda Boyd, D.O., WVSOM’s chief academic officer, told students their coats represent the trust and confidence that they will earn from future patients as their careers progress.

“You walked into this room today as medical students, but when you don the white coat, you become a professional,” she said. “WVSOM holds high expectations for you, as does society, and I know you won’t let us down.”

Other White Coat Ceremony speakers included Randall Belt, D.O., chair of the WVSOM Board of Governors, and L. Faith Payne, D.O., secretary and treasurer of the WVSOM Alumni Association. Lewisburg Mayor Beverly White was among those in attendance at the event.

The ceremony closed with the assembled students reciting an oath of commitment, led by faculty member Jessica Smith-Kelly, D.O., in which members of the class pledged to maintain “a life of growth, to always expand my knowledge and to strengthen my understanding of human health and behavior.”