Class of 2030 White Coat Ceremony

Friday, August 7, 2026 at 10:45 a.m.

Congratulations to the Class of 2030!

We are excited to invite our entering MD program class, and their friends and family, to a celebration welcoming them to the Drexel community and to the medical community.

This celebration, the White Coat Ceremony, is a nationally recognized tradition. Incoming medical students come together to put on their white coats, a symbol of clinical care and compassionate service, and to recite the Physician’s Pledge. Taking these steps in the presence of family, friends and educators helps students realize their responsibilities from the first day of their medical studies.

Friday, August 7, 2026
10:45 a.m.
Academy of Music
240 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA 19102

For more information, please contact us at DUCOMMilestones@drexel.edu.

Drexel medical students holding flowers after the White Coat Ceremony

About the White Coat Ceremony

The White Coat Ceremony was established in 1993 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University. It was designed to encourage a renewed focus on compassion among future generations of physicians.

Wearing their white “cloaks of compassion,” entering students take the Declaration of Geneva’s Physician’s Pledge, the contemporary successor to the 2,500-year-old Hippocratic Oath, for the first time in the presence of family, friends, faculty, board members, administrators and alumni, affirming their commitment to the professional duties of physicians and the ethical principles of the medical profession they have now joined.

Taking the Pledge at the beginning of their education makes the students more aware of their responsibility from the very first day of their training, not just to take care of their patients but to care for them.

The Physician's Pledge

AS A MEMBER OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION

I SOLEMNLY PLEDGE to dedicate my life to the service of humanity;

THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF MY PATIENT will be my first consideration;

I WILL RESPECT the autonomy and dignity of my patient;

I WILL MAINTAIN the utmost respect for human life;

I WILL NOT PERMIT considerations of age, disease or disability, creed, ethnic origin, gender, nationality, political affiliation, race, sexual orientation, social standing or any other factor to intervene between my duty and my patient;

I WILL RESPECT the secrets that are confided in me, even after the patient has died;

I WILL PRACTICE my profession with conscience and dignity and in accordance with good medical practice;

I WILL FOSTER the honor and noble traditions of the medical profession;

I WILL GIVE to my teachers, colleagues and students the respect and gratitude that is their due;

I WILL SHARE my medical knowledge for the benefit of the patient and the advancement of healthcare;

I WILL ATTEND TO my own health, well-being and abilities in order to provide care of the highest standard;

I WILL NOT USE my medical knowledge to violate human rights and civil liberties, even under threat;

I MAKE THESE PROMISES solemnly, freely and upon my honor.