86 medical students and four biomedical sciences students of the Class of 2027 at the UC Riverside School of Medicine received their white coats symbolizing their entry into the medical profession. The 2023 event was held Friday, August 4 at the Student Recreation Center on the UC Riverside campus.
86 medical students and four biomedical sciences students of the Class of 2027 at the UC Riverside School of Medicine received their white coats symbolizing their entry into the medical profession. The 2023 event was held Friday, August 4 at the Student Recreation Center on the UC Riverside campus. (source: ucr.edu)

Ellen Perrault 

The University of California, Riverside School of Medicine welcomed the incoming Class of 2028 medical and biomedical sciences students during an annual White Coat Ceremony on Friday.

The White Coat Ceremony traditionally welcomes students to the School of Medicine and formally presents students with their first white coats as family, friends and professors celebrate them. The School of Medicine currently has 364 medical students. During last year’s White coat Ceremony, 86 medical students and four biomedical sciences students received their white coats.

Since its opening in 2013, the School of Medicine has been recognized for its unique history, and recently, its recognition and celebration of equity during an inaugural J.W. Vines Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Colloquium in May. 

The School of Medicine is also known as one of the medical schools in the UC system with a distinctive program that specifically trains medical students to become doctors who support underserved and historically underrepresented communities. Medical students under the School’s Program in Medical Education (PRIME) learn how to address the healthcare needs of the African, Black, and Caribbean (ABC) communities of Inland Southern California. 

Ellen Perrault is retired and works occasionally as a freelance writer who contributes to publications in Riverside and San Bernardino Counties. Her primary focus is preparing/reformatting press releases and other public announcements–both municipal and nonprofit–for publication.