Physician Assistant Class of 2028 Celebrates White Coat Ceremony
The new students will join first-year medical students for 18 months of team-based learning
The Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Physician Assistant (PA) Class of 2028 celebrated their White Coat Ceremony with family, friends, faculty and staff in Hiebert Lounge on Friday, Aug. 8, officially marking their entry into the study and professional practice of medicine.
The program’s 26 new students are the 12th PA class and will join over 200 alumni following the completion of 114.5 credit hours over nearly three years. For the first 18 months of their program, they will attend classes alongside first-year medical students, integrating foundational sciences and clinical medicine in a team-based learning environment. While there are over 300 PA education programs across the United States, BU is one of only a handful nationwide that provide combined classes for PA and MD students.
In what is the heart of the celebration, second-year PA students helped their first-year counterparts into the white coats that are a symbol of the profession.
This will be PA Program Director Aliza Stern, MMSc, PA-C first year as program director, following the retirement of Clinical Associate Professor of OB/GYN Susan White, MD. Stern previously served as director of didactic education for the program.
In her remarks to students, Stern discussed the significance of the white coat and urged them to “reflect on the definition of professionalism and why it is important.”
Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine Dean, ad interim, Hee-Young Park, PhD, encouraged students “to humbly and faithfully provide compassionate patient-centered care and make a difference for the human being behind the patient.”
“You will join a membership of health professionals around the globe,” Park said. “You are becoming a special part of the global community.”
Associate Provost and Dean of Graduate Medical Sciences, C. James McKnight, PhD, urged students to take advantage of all opportunities presented to them – both inside and outside of the classroom – during their time at BU. He noted that the medical school’s association with Boston Medical Center will allow for significant collaboration with practicing physicians and bench-to-bedside learning opportunities.
“You are part of an exceptionally strong and vibrant program,” McKnight said. “Be kind to each other. Take care of each other. Try to include each other.”
Dipu Patel, DMSc, MPAS, PA-C delivered the ceremony’s keynote address. Patel serves as board president of the Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) and as professor and vice chair for innovation at the University of Pittsburgh.
“You are truly entering a profession that has brought me many years of joy,” Patel said as she reflected on lessons learned from her time as a PA. She told the students that the white coat is a symbol of a profession built on trust, compassion, curiosity and service.
“Medicine begins with listening,” Patel said. “Listening to bodies. Listening to stories. And listening in the silent moments, because they can be the most powerful.”
Patel asked students to contemplate their role in health care.
“Think about and reflect on how you want to make your presence known, not only within BU, but in the larger medical profession,” she said.
“Our entire profession is rooting for you.”