Visakhapatnam: White coat ceremony at GITAM for MBBS students

Visakhapatnam: A total 150 newly joined MBBS 2019-2020 batch students received their white coats at GITAM Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (GIMST) at GITAM Deemed to be University here on Friday during White Coat Inauguration Ceremony to symbolize they are joining their peers and predecessors in the medical profession. The newly admitted MBBS students hail from 19states through Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Under Graduate Medical Counselling 2019 basing NEET ranks.

Addressing the white coat ceremony GITAM President M. Sribharath exhorted the new batch of MBBS students to develop a vision from the very beginning to improve the rural health care with innovative solutions. He said that interdisciplinary approaches are needed to design new medical practices. He advised the medical entrants to focus more on rural areas to improve the health conditions. He urged that future physicians must be more humanistic and display higher level of empathy towards patients.

GITAM Vice-Chancellor Prof. K. Sivaramakrishna said that the medical profession is a symbol of acceptance of great ideals of service to humanity, purity, peace and human dignity. He mentioned that that the white coat worn by doctors automatically draws respect and confidence of patients and they have onus on them to keep the patients' trust.He congratulated the students on becoming a part of medical fraternity and urged them to prepare themselves for complete dedication, sincerity and hard work.

Noted Paediatric Surgeon Dr. V.Chandrasekharam urged the newly admitted students to inculcate values of dignity and conscience in them and maintain the honour and standard of the profession. He advised the students to concentrate more in first year of MBBS for better understanding the subjects.

GIMSR Medical Superintendent Dr. P. Shyam Prasad, Principal Dr. M. Jai Prakash Babu briefed about the MCI norms and importance of medical education in the country. The MBBS foundation Course Coordinator Dr. G.Subba Rao briefed the course curriculum.

The ceremony concluded with the students rising to recite the Hippocratic Oath, promising to practice the art of medicine with honour and loyalty. White coat ceremony is to promote both professionalism and humanism in new medical students as they begin their education.