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Special Events

A fourth-year medical student receives her residency match letter at match day in 2016.

White Coat Ceremony

The White Coat Ceremony, initiated in 1993 at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons with the support of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, has become common practice in US medical schools. The ceremony is a rite of passage for first year medical students, designed to inculcate the values of professionalism, humanism and compassionate patient care. It is the official welcome to the medical profession and to the Temple family.

In the ceremony, students are "cloaked" in their first white coats in the presence of family members, friends and school faculty. The program includes greetings by medical school deans, explorations of the meaning of professionalism by an array of speakers representing the perspectives of medical school faculty, alumni, the community, patients and ethicists, and taking of an oath based upon the 1948 Declaration of Geneva.

For students, it provides a vivid realization that they are, in fact, medical students and future physicians and serves as a rite of passage into the profession of medicine.

For information about this year's White Coat Ceremony, please visit the School of Medicine calendar.                        


Residency Match Day

Match Day, an exciting tradition at medical schools across the US, takes place in March and is filled with anticipation for fourth year students at the School of Medicine. The Dean leads students and their families in a countdown to 12:00 noon, when fourth year medical students simultaneously open envelopes to discover where they have matched for residency. The event takes place in the Stone Commons of the Medical Education Research Building and kicks off with an assembly for the fourth year class to gather and build excitement.

For information about this year's Match Day, please visit the School of Medicine calendar.                      


Awards Day

Held prior to graduation each year, the awards day event honors outstanding faculty members and students for special achievement. The event is attended by several hundred students, faculty, family and friends.  

Outstanding scholars, future leaders, skilled teachers, compassionate caregivers, promising researchers and even “scary smart people” as one presenter humorously put it – all were honored at the Awards Day Ceremony.

For information about this year's Awards Day, please visit the School of Medicine calendar.            


Commencement

Commencement is a momentous occasion in the lives of our students and their families; a time to celebrate accomplishments in medical school and the transition to future opportunities. The Commencement ceremony for Lewis Katz School of Medicine is held each May at the Kimmel Center for Performing Arts in Philadelphia.

For more information about this year's Commencement, please contact Micki Miller Marchesani at 215-707-1670 or visit the School of Medicine calendar.