New medical students put on the coat with a ‘kind of deep magic’

New medical students put on the coat with a 'kind of deep magic'

Published on Monday, August 11, 2025

By: Gary Pettus, [email protected]

Photos By: Joe Ellis and Melanie Thortis/UMMC Communications

The 170 students of the medical school class of 2029 are typical - ignoring the fact that some majored in accounting, international relations, geography or family studies; or that they make up the largest-ever entering class; or that 3% are triplets.

Or that they all have unique stories, personalities and spirits they will bring to the practice of medicine some four years from now.

What is typical of these brand-new students in the University of Mississippi Medical Center School of Medicine is their participation last week in a rite instilled with meaning for them and their families: the donning of their first white coat.

During Thursday's White Coat Ceremony at Jackson Preparatory School, their medical education began as they learned the significance of this symbol of their chosen profession.

They learned it from Dr. LouAnn Woodward, vice chancellor for health affairs and dean of the School of Medicine, who said, "The white coat gives you entry into the very most private part of peoples' lives.

"You are with them as they face some of the most important decisions of their lives, as they talk about their fears and their hopes. The white coat has a kind of deep magic."

They learned it from Dr. Michael McMullan, associate dean for student affairs in the School of Medicine, who compared the white coat to a runner's bib and the entry into medical school to the start of a race. Quoting runner and author, John Bingham, McMullan said, "'The miracle isn't that I finished the marathon. The miracle is that I had the courage to start.'"

"The white coat symbolizes your commitment to run the race," McMullan said.

They learned it from Dr. David Norris, the school's assistant dean for academic affairs. "To our new M1s, today, you will put on your first white coat. Yeah, it's short, I'll be honest," Norris said.

"But, as our speakers have already said, it's long in meaning. This coat marks the beginning of a transformation. …"

From second-year medical student Morgan McCray, M2 class president, they heard this: "There are a few days when this white coat feels heavy - literally and figuratively. There will be moments when you will question if you are smart enough, strong enough or good enough.

"In those moments, I hope you will remember this day, the way your name was called, the way the family beamed with pride. And the way your white coat felt as it was slipped on your shoulders for the very first time. …"

For several emotion-filled moments they learned it from keynote speaker, Dr. Shannon Pittman, professor and Alma Lowry Hill Endowed Chair of Family Medicine.

Pittman, a multiple winner of the Golden Stethoscope Family Medicine Faculty of the Year Award, related three stories of her encounters with patients - one she helped at the end of the patient's life; one to whom she had prescribed a wrong - but reversible - treatment; and one she didn't treat or even know but whose death taught her to always "see and honor the humanity of life."

Each story came with its own lesson:

• "I hope you came to medicine because … you honor the privilege of being able to walk patients through life and support them in death. That is the authentic 'why' that patients will see and feel and touch - not the white coat, but the heart of the one who wears it."
• "This coat is a lot of things, but it doesn't really give you superpowers. So, be humble and embrace the spirit of humility. When you are wrong, own it and do better… and when help comes, take it."
• "This white coat grants us this incredible freedom to occupy sacred and intimate spaces in the lives of our patients.… It is indeed a privilege for us to wear it."

The "cloak of compassion," has been a symbol of authority, respect and professionalism for the medical profession for more than a century. Just below its left shoulder is a blue-and-white patch representing the serpent-encircled rod of Asclepius, associated with healing and medicine.

Members of the UMMC medical school faculty helped each student slip into one on stage, to the applause and cheers of friends and family.

The students also received their Keeping Healthcare Human lapel pins - a tradition created by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, which started the ceremony tradition in 1993. Together, they recited a Covenant of Medical Education and, led by Dr. Lyssa Weatherly, assistant dean for student affairs, they repeated the Oath of Hippocrates.

Dr. Demondes Haynes, the medical school's associate dean for admissions and chair of the admissions executive committee, told them a little bit about themselves - that they represent 33 different college majors, with 32% in biology/biological sciences; that a contingent of triplets was in their midst, along with two from another set; that all are Mississippi residents.

And that they were chosen by the admissions committee in the belief that they "will make a difference in Mississippi and in the lives of our patients."

SNAPSHOT: SCHOOL OF MEDICINE CLASS OF 2029

• Number of students: 170
• Children of physicians: 18% (31)
• First-generation college students: 9% (16)
• From rural counties: 34%
• From medically underserved Mississippi counties: 96%
• Mississippi residents: 100%
• Number of colleges or universities represented: 32 (11 in-state, 21 out-of-state)
• Number of different college majors: 33
• Age range: 21-42; average age: 24