Brown University medical students don white coats, kick off medical careers

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] - One-hundred forty-five first-year medical students at Brown University's Warren Alpert Medical School took the next step toward a career that their dean called "both a great privilege and tremendous responsibility" on Saturday, Sept. 13.

The annual Ceremony of Commitment to Medicine, informally known as the white coat ceremony, acknowledges the dedication that brought the new students to Providence and welcomes them to the medical profession. Per tradition, students are "coated" by the dean, with white coats donated by the Brown Medical Alumni Association.

Dean of Medicine and Biological Sciences Mukesh K. Jain said that 32 U.S. states and territories and 15 nations are represented in this year's class. Forty-five percent of the students speak a language other than English, and 24% come from groups historically underrepresented in medicine.

"This is a class that is diverse in background, united in purpose and already contributing to the richness of our community," Jain said.

Meylakh Barshay, a member of Brown's M.D. Class of 2026 offered the event's student reflection, encouraging students to reject the temptation to become nihilistic in the face of medicine's sometimes overwhelming challenges. Barshay emphasized the importance of connecting with patients.

"My own experience has shown that the more dimensions you let people show you, the more dimensions you discover that they have, and the deeper your relationship to them can be," he said.

Barshay also urged students to connect with their peers. He recalled a program that paired together classmates for the purpose of meeting for coffee. Half of his class participated, and since that time he said they have supported each other with everything from meals to kind words to "free doggy day care." He encouraged the gathered students to find their own ways to support each other.

"The 145 of you have the power to define your own community in a way that not only affects how you all experience the challenge of this journey but also creates a family whose impact can extend far beyond the walls of the medical school," Barshay said. "In a world of big problems, small deeds done can be better than great deeds planned."