Medical Students Officiated at White Coat Ceremony

NTU’s first batch of medical students go through rite of passage into medical profession.

By Aqil Haziq

PROFESSIONAL RITUAL: The first batch of medical students recite their oath.
PHOTO: LIM MU YAO

White coats, stethoscopes and oaths.

With these, NTU’s pioneer batch of 54 medical students were initiated into the medicine profession in an inaugural White Coat Ceremony yesterday.

Faculty and parents watched as the Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine’s undergraduates pledged to practise medicine in integrity, humility, honesty and compassion, regardless of a patient’s background.

Dean, Professor Dermot Kelleher, said: “It serves as a constant reminder of the importance of professionalism at all levels throughout their careers.”

“Remember it’s always about the patient,” he added.

Chosen from over 800 applicants, this batch of 54 will be the smallest intake for the new school.

Over the next four years, enrollment will increase to about 150.

PHOTO: LIM MU YAO

Despite being the pioneer batch, students are not worried about their prospects in the medical field.

Ryan Chen, 19, chose the medicine school because of its technology-based learning.

“Other medical students tell me that you can’t really see anything when dissecting a cadaver (corpse) — it’s usually just a mass of blood or preservatives,” he said.

“But with the virtual Anatomage Table, we are able to get a close look at the corpse’s anatomy and more hands-on experience.”

The ceremony also marks the start of the second undergraduate medical school in Singapore in over a century.