White Coat Ceremony Welcomes Future Physicians Dedicated to Compassion and Service

When Jacob Labovitz donned his white coat for the first time on Friday, he started his medical school journey working to improve the lives of patients who suffer brain injuries-a poignant moment inspired by the tragic loss of his mother.

Seven years ago, when he was 15, his mother died unexpectedly after suffering a stroke while returning to their home in Sunnyvale, Calif., from a family trip to Europe. She was 52.

"That experience has really guided my interests," said Labovitz, 22, who is starting an eight-year M.D.-Ph.D. dual-degree program at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, which combines the clinical training of a medical doctor with the scientific research training of a doctoral degree.

"I'm interested in neurocritical care and in understanding how we can better protect and repair the brain after stroke,'' he said. "I want to combine research, clinical medicine and public health throughout my career."

Labovitz was one of 165 students in the Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School's Class of 2030 who marked the beginning of their medical careers at the annual White Coat Ceremony, an annual rite of passage for more than 30 years.

The students are starting their degrees during a time of growth, change and new opportunities in medical education at Rutgers. They are the first class to participate in orientation in the newly opened Health and Life Sciences Exchange (HELIX) building, in New Brunswick and received their white coats during a ceremony at the State Theater.

"As you put on your white coat today, wear it with humility, integrity and compassion," Amy P. Murtha, dean of Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, told the incoming class. "Let it remind you not only of what you are learning, but who you are becoming."

New Jersey Medical School in Newark, which will hold its 2030 Class White Coat Ceremony in September, and Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, are working toward a merger of the two schools into a single, statewide Rutgers School of Medicine, pending approval by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education.

"Medicine is more than a profession," Murtha told the future physicians. "Every day, patients will entrust you with some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. There are few greater privileges than earning that trust."