{"id":144254,"date":"2026-05-15T11:26:45","date_gmt":"2026-05-15T15:26:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/?post_type=bu-article&p=144254"},"modified":"2026-05-26T17:48:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T21:48:30","slug":"trust-is-fundamental-md-and-phd-graduates-told-at-annual-convocation","status":"publish","type":"bu-article","link":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/news-events\/articles\/2026\/trust-is-fundamental-md-and-phd-graduates-told-at-annual-convocation\/","title":{"rendered":"Trust is Fundamental, MD and PhD Graduates Told at Annual Convocation"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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Chinyere Kemet being hooded by Hui Feng, MD, PhD (mentor).<\/p>\n\t\t\t\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t

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Graduates urged to make the world a better place. <\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\n\t\n
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May 15, 2026<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\t
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\"Gwande
Atul Gawande, MD, MPH<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

The Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Class of 2026 easily could have assumed that the choice for convocation speaker of Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, renowned surgeon, professor, former assistant administrator for global health at USAID, documentary film producer and writer was preordained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In their first year of medical school, they received Gawande\u2019s best-selling book, Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End, from the late Elizabeth Dooling, MD\u201965, who purchased and distributed his book to the incoming class every year for more than a dozen years, resulting in her gifting more than 1,800 copies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his address at the MD\/PhD convocation Thursday, Gawande spoke of the fundamental trust that must exist between patient and doctor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn medicine and science, we’ve been able to presume a bedrock of trust\u2026But mistrust has become more common, and when trust falters, we struggle for our footing,\u201d said Gawande.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust, he advised, is won with competence, integrity and benevolence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trust is won with competence, integrity and benevolence.<\/p>Atul Gawande, MD, MPH<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn this tricky moment in history, it can seem that the virtues of competence, integrity and benevolence are not valued. But people are hungrier for them now than ever before. They will remain the keys to your success,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you consistently demonstrate over time, not only that you can and will do what you say, but also that you truly mean well by people\u2026that you understand where they\u2019re coming from and genuinely put their priorities first, then they will come to believe in you.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman
Jennifer Freire (holding her daughter), being hooded by Xue Han, PhD (mentor).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday marks the start of your next chapter\u2014one defined by purpose, service and the commitment to make the world a better place,\u201d said Hee-Young Park<\/a>, PhD, dean, ad interim<\/em>, welcoming the graduates, their families and friends to the convocation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Held at BU\u2019s Tennis & Track Center, the ceremony conveyed 161 degrees including 132 MDs, 22 PhDs, five MD\/PhDs, and one MD\/MBA and MD\/MPH. Twenty students graduated with honors, with 14 graduating cum laude<\/em>, four magna cum laude<\/em>, and two students, Kevin Senanayake and Nikki Zangenah, taking top honors, graduating summa cum laude<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Woman
Osaretin Aimufua with hooder, Esosa Aimufua, JD (sister).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe are particularly proud of our PhD and MD\/PhD students,\u201d said Associate Dean of Graduate Medical Sciences C. James McKnight<\/a>, PhD. \u201cThe research that these students do\u2026plays a vital part in maintaining the status of Boston University as a world-class research university.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jenna Libera was the first of two student speakers. Chosen by her classmates, Libera received her PhD in pharmacology studying aberrant RNA metabolism in Alzheimer\u2019s disease and now works  at Eli Lilly on adeno-associated virus research and development. She spoke about the rewards and lessons of a life devoted to discovery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Man,
Patrick Hannan (holding his daughter) and Angela Jackson, MD. <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDiscovery is a process that is self-revealing and applicable to everything we do,\u201d said Libera. \u201cAs we celebrate the completion of our journey at Boston University, may we remember to embrace the spirit of discovery in future seasons of life, in our career ambitions and personal endeavors, continuing to marvel at the wonders that are yet to be discovered around us and within us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Selected by his medical student peers, Amos Mwaura<\/a> spoke about the road ahead: the constantly evolving field of medicine and the hope inherent in scientific discoveries, the need to find common ground with patients, and the necessity of finding a work-life balance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDespite all the hard work we\u2019ve put in thus far, we have a lot to learn,\u201d said Mwaura. \u201cAnd yet, I\u2019m not worried\u2026I\u2019m surrounded by classmates who balanced the demands of medical school with training for marathons, hosting dinner parties, dedicating time to their hobbies and showing up for their loved ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy should I worry when, time and time again, my peers have demonstrated that we are capable of being outstanding physicians, that we are driven to provide exceptional care \u2026and most importantly, that we are ready to improve the health of our communities one patient at a time,\u201d said Mwaura.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"MD
Amos Mwaura<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

See the Facebook album<\/a> for more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Class of 2026 easily could have assumed that the choice for convocation speaker of Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, renowned surgeon, professor, former assistant administrator for global health at USAID, documentary film producer and writer was preordained. In their first year of medical school, they received Gawande\u2019s best-selling book, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":903,"featured_media":144278,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"bu_prepress_billboard":"","_bu_prepress_primary_term":"MD\/PhD Convocation","_bu_prepress_primary_term_manual":""},"tags":[383,550,405],"bu-publication":[367],"medicine-article-category":[],"medicine-topic":[],"news-article-category":[455,384],"news-topic":[],"bu_edition":[390],"media_type":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/144254"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/bu-article"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/903"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=144254"}],"version-history":[{"count":21,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/144254\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":144464,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-article\/144254\/revisions\/144464"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/144278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=144254"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=144254"},{"taxonomy":"bu-publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu-publication?post=144254"},{"taxonomy":"medicine-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/medicine-article-category?post=144254"},{"taxonomy":"medicine-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/medicine-topic?post=144254"},{"taxonomy":"news-article-category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-article-category?post=144254"},{"taxonomy":"news-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-topic?post=144254"},{"taxonomy":"bu_edition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/bu_edition?post=144254"},{"taxonomy":"media_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bumc.bu.edu\/camed\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media_type?post=144254"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}