“ This white coat not only represents the love and compassion I have for all the patients that I interact with, but it truly is the embodiment of what it means to be a competent physician. Hopefully, I will embody an exemplary physician.”
Even as its journey is just beginning, the Class of 2029 has special significance. It is the 25th College of Medicine cohort to begin the four-year Doctor of Medicine curriculum, which corresponds with this year’ s 25th anniversary of the college’ s creation.
To date, the college has produced 2,069 physicians, more than 1,100 of whom have completed residency and are in practice. Those numbers will exceed 2,500 and 1,500 by the time Richardson and his classmates graduate.
Selected from 6,700 applicants, the 120-member class was culled from 190 who received offers following 263 individual interviews. Its make-up, while unique, remains rooted in the college’ s mission-driven principles.
• The College of Medicine’ s featured pathway programs are represented by eight members from the Bridge to Clinical Medicine master’ s program, including Richardson, and eight others who matriculated through the undergraduate Interdisciplinary Medical Sciences program.
• They are represented by students from 17 different undergrad majors, featuring traditional pre-med tracks( biology, biomedical science, neuroscience, microbiology and biochemistry) as well academically diverse majors that include history, anthropology, music, economics, nursing, environmental science, computer science and political science.
• The class includes 26 first-generation college students and 52 non-traditional members; those who did not matriculate directly from an undergraduate education.
• In all, 118 of the 120 were either raised in Florida or attended a state university. They hail from 35 Florida counties, and yet speak 22 different languages.
• Collectively, they entered medical school with more than 67,000 cumulative hours of research experience and 71,000 cumulative hours in medical or non-medical service to communities.
“ Wherever you come from, tonight’ s ceremony will be something you will remember for the rest of your life,” FSU College of Medicine Dean Alma Littles, M. D., said in her opening remarks.“ You’ ll be transformed by what it means to don the white coat, and you will gain new appreciation for the responsibility that goes along with it.
“ You have had the opportunity this summer to bond with your classmates and to grow closer in your shared pursuit. You will lean on each other a lot in the years to come, and tonight I hope you will look around at your classmates and feel the shared sense of pride in what this ceremony represents.”
As family and friends hoist phones and cameras to commemorate the moment, the M. D. Class of 2029 gathers for its informal White Coat class photo after exiting Westcott Hall.
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