SIU Med School Beginning Students Participate in Ceremony

Medical students in the Class of 2008 at Southern Illinois University will mark the start their medical training this Friday in Carbondale. The 75 students will participate in a "white coat ceremony" beginning at 4 p.m. Friday, August 13, in the Student Center, Ballroom D.

The keynote will be given by Dr. Janet Albers, associate professor and associate chair of the family and community medicine department as well as director of SIU's Springfield family medicine residency program. Albers received the 2001 Humanism in Medicine Award given by the Healthcare Foundation of New Jersey. She is a native of Decatur and a 1987 School of Medicine graduate.

During the ceremony, the students will be welcomed by Dr. J. Kevin Dorsey, dean and provost and a 1978 graduate of the School. They will receive their first white coat from the president of the School's Alumni Society, Dr. Sam Gaines, a Springfield internist and 1977 graduate. The students also receive a pin made up of the words "Compassion, Respect and Integrity" from the SIU Foundation.

The class of 2008 again has most of the 75 students from the southern two-thirds of the state, says Dr. Erik J. Constance, associate professor of internal medicine, associate dean of student affairs and a 1988 graduate. Females in the class out number males again this year, with 42 females and 33 males.

The White Coat ceremony is designed to establish a "psychological contract for professionalism and empathy" in medicine. Students entering most U.S. medical schools this fall will participate in this rite of passage.

SIU School of Medicine is based in Carbondale and Springfield and is specifically oriented to educating new physicians prepared to practice in Illinois communities. It has graduated 1,920 physicians since beginning in 1975.

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NOTE TO MEDIA: Interviews can be arranged at approx. 5:30 p.m. For information or assistance, contact Ruth Slottag or Nancy Zimmers, SIU School of Medicine Public Affairs (Springfield), 217-545-2155, or SIUC Public Affairs Office, 618-453-2276.