White Coat Ceremony Welcomes Class of 2028 to Pharmacy Profession

School of Pharmacy hosted the annual ceremony on Sept. 6.

By Becky Ceraul
September 27, 2024

On Sept. 6, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy’s Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) Class of 2028 participated in the annual tradition of the White Coat Ceremony, signifying the start of their pharmacy journeys.

During the ceremony, first-year student pharmacists received their clinical white coats, which symbolize the importance of professionalism and the role of a health care provider.

“Your journey to become a pharmacist includes your academic training but also training in professionalism, which starts today with our White Coat Ceremony,” said Sarah L.J. Michel, PhD, dean of the School and professor in the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences. “It is important that you think about how you will treat your patients, their families, and your colleagues when you are in your white coat. Professionalism should be at the core of your actions. If it is, you will excel as a pharmacist.”

The keynote address was given by Chelsey Song, PharmD ’16, BCPS, BCTXP, a clinical pharmacy specialist in solid organ transplant at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Song recalled her excitement at her own White Coat Ceremony as a new first year student and credited her work as a pharmacy technician for igniting her interest in pharmacy. “I witnessed first-hand one of the key characteristics of what the white coat symbolizes: trust,” she said in her remarks. “I saw countless pharmacist interactions with patients eager to fill their medication, desperate for a recommendation to quickly alleviate their symptoms, or simply needing to understand what their provider prescribed for them.”

Song offered the students four pieces of advice as they move through the pharmacy school: network, work hard and play hard, embrace challenges, and keep an open mind about career options. She also challenged them to never forget the key principles that should guide their practice – trust, expertise, and compassion.

“It’s easy to get lost in daily tasks like patient education, prescription verification, or calculations, but it’s so important to remember that behind every prescription or recommendation there is always the patient – the key to our profession,” she said. “A patient who is counting on you to help manage, support, and navigate their medications in order to live their best lives.”

The 104 members of the Class of 2028 were each coated by a faculty member and were announced by Reginald Briscoe, president of the Student Government Association and a third-year student pharmacist, and Audra Stinchcomb, PhD, professor of pharmaceutical sciences and faculty advisor for the Class of 2028. They were congratulated with a handshake from Dean Michel.

“I never imagined I’d make it this far with my education and to officially have a symbol of my journey is incredible,” said student Israel Sebbag. “My entire family works in health care, and I’ve been surrounded by it my entire life. I always loved chemistry, and pharmacy was the next step in pursuing what I love.”

“Today feels amazing, like a dream come true,” said student Javier Guzman Guzman. “I’ve always wanted to be a health care professional, and today is the first step towards achieving that goal. Pharmacy combines my love of science and helping people. As a pharmacist, I want to be the most accessible health care professional in my community back home in Puerto Rico.”

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