280 new medical students receive their lab coats

By Joe Stuteville

The nation’s second largest med school welcomes its new class

“The White Coat Ceremony impresses upon students the altruistic nature of the doctor-and-patient relationship,” said D. Craig Brater, dean of IUSM. “It encourages students to accept the obligations inherent in the practice of medicine, to excel in science, to be compassionate and to maintain the honor and dignity of the profession.”

IUSM, the second largest medical school in the United States with more than 1,200 students, has nine medical education centers throughout the state for first- and second-year students. IU medical education centers are located in Gary (IU Northwest), Bloomington (IU campus), Evansville (University of Southern Indiana), Terre Haute (Indiana State University), South Bend (University of Notre Dame), West Lafayette (Purdue University), Fort Wayne (IPFW), Muncie (Ball Memorial Hospital) and Indianapolis (IUPUI).

Students from all the campuses gathered in Indianapolis a few days before the ceremony for a round of intensive orientation and to participate in a community service project.

In their first year, IUSM students study gross anatomy, histology, neurobiology, biochemistry, physiology, immunology, microbiology and introduction to medicine. The second year includes courses in biostatistics, pharmacology, medical genetics, pathology and emergency medicine. All IUSM students complete their final two years of study at the IUPUI campus. Students receive clinical training at that time, in addition to further classroom and laboratory studies.