A Long-Awaited White Coat Welcome

After an unprecedented year of interviews and campus tours and classes that the Covid-19 pandemic forced to be virtual, members of the Albany Medical College classes of 2024 and 2025 finally donned their white coats for the first time Thursday. The white coat is a symbol of the trust bestowed upon students as they enter the medical profession.

The event at which the coats are presented is just as meaningful. Created by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation in 1993, the white coat ceremony is a rite of passage marking the beginning of their medical school journey. In addition to receiving the coats they will wear throughout their training, students also take an oath to responsibly and compassionately care for future patients. This year, students recited the Declaration of Geneva, the modern-day physician’s oath.

For the class of 2024, it was a long-awaited celebration after Covid restrictions prevented the event from occurring last year.

“To hear words of wisdom from current physicians and a fellow student, and to share the ceremony with the class of 2025 and family, the White Coat Ceremony was more special than I could have imagined,” said Rose Parisi, ’24. "It was an honor to stand aside my classmates and recite the Declaration of Geneva especially now, in a time of such medical uncertainty and medical need.”

This year’s incoming class was drawn from more than 13,000 applicants. The 145 students in the class of 2025 represent 23 states, with 27% being New York State residents. Women make up 62% of the class, with 38% men.