Press Release

August 14, 2006
Contact: Kaylyn Kendall Dines
(973) 972-3000
dineskd@umdnj.edu

New Jersey Medical School Welcomes Incoming Students Tuesday at Traditional White Coat Ceremony in Newark on Tuesday, Aug. 15

NEWARK — A new class of 170 future physicians will receive their white coats during a ceremony marking the beginning of their medical education at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. The Barbara and Norman Seiden White Coat Ceremony will take place on Tues., Aug. 15, at 4 p.m., at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, 185 South Orange Avenue, Newark.

The ceremony, now in its 12th year, was established by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to emphasize the importance of delivering compassionate care to diverse patient populations. The White Coat Ceremony is a traditional event that is held at medical schools nationwide and for new students it represents their first step towards achieving their dream of becoming doctors.

Dr. Lisa Pompeo, assistant professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology & Women’s Health at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School, will deliver the keynote address titled, “Humanism in Medicine - Rules to Live By.” Dr. Pompeo will provide guidelines that are essential for embodying the characteristics of a caring physician.

During the ceremony, Dr. Arnold Gold and Mr. Seiden will offer greetings and members of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation board will cloak each member of the Class of 2010 with their white coat s in the presence of family and faculty. These first-year medical students will also receive a copy of On Doctoring, an inspirational book that was edited by Dr. Richard Reynolds and Dr. John Stone. The book contains a collection of poems, stories and essays that provide insight into the medical profession.

When the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School held its first White Coat Ceremony in August 1994, it was the second school in the country to establish this tradition. Two years later, it was named the Barbara and Norman Seiden White Coat Ceremony. Norman Seiden serves as vice president of the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. This organization was established by Arnold P. Gold, M.D., and his wife Sandra O. Gold, Ed.D.

Founded in 1954 as the Seton Hall College of Medicine and Dentistry, the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School was the state’s first medical school. Today, it is part of UMDNJ, the nation’s largest health sciences institution.

UMDNJ is the nation’s largest free-standing public health sciences university with more than 5,500 students attending the state's three medical schools, its only dental school, a graduate school of biomedical sciences, a school of health related professions, a school of nursing and a school of public health on five campuses. Annually, there are more than two million patient visits at UMDNJ facilities and faculty at campuses in Newark, New Brunswick/Piscataway, Scotch Plains, Camden and Stratford. UMDNJ operates University Hospital, a Level I Trauma Center in Newark, and University Behavioral HealthCare, a mental health and addiction services network.