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Duke-NUS welcomes 72 new medical students in its 15th cohort

On 18 September, Duke-NUS welcomed its 15th cohort of medical students with a virtual White Coat Ceremony. The ceremony is a traditional rite of passage where the School’s faculty help the new students don their white coats for the first time, thereby formally inducting them into their medical studies. The donning of the white coats is complemented by a recital of the centuries-old Hippocratic Oath, which instils these aspiring clinicians’ ethical commitment to their future patients.

Among the 72 new students in the 2021 intake are six graduates from the National University of Singapore (NUS) and the Singapore University of Technology and Design (SUTD) who are the first to enter Duke-NUS via the School’s conditional admissions pathways.

Duke-NUS Dean Professor Thomas Coffman began the ceremony with a warm welcome for the Class of 2025, their families and friends, and faculty from the School and its academic medicine partner, SingHealth, before expanding on the ethical commitment articulated in the Hippocratic Oath.

“This Oath has been taken by countless generations of doctors to affirm their dedication to principles that form the foundation of our profession, principles that we adhere to for the rest of our medical careers,” said Prof Coffman.

This was followed by the presentation of the white coats officiated by the Vice-Dean for Education, Professor Ian Curran.

“Class of 2025, by symbolically presenting you with this white coat, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you into the family of Duke-NUS,” said Prof Curran. “And to formally recognise this moment as the beginning of your long—and I hope—rewarding personal journey to join the medical profession.”

Master of Ceremonies Dr Suzanne Goh, who is also the Associate Dean for Student Affairs, invited alumnus Dr June Yu to introduce each of the new students to the audience on Zoom and those watching on Facebook. In groups, the newly introduced students accepted their white coats, conferred virtually by Prof Curran.

He then led the students in the recital of the Hippocratic Oath. The new medical students were joined by the School’s Master Academic Clinicians, senior doctors and Duke-NUS leadership, who took the opportunity to renew their vow to be loyal to the profession of medicine, cure patients and prevent disease.

After the Class of 2025 pledged themselves to their calling, the students posed proudly in their white coats in front of their families and friends.

“I feel really excited about the journey that lies ahead, but it is also a humbling experience and a reminder of the trust and responsibility that society has entrusted us with,” said Edmund Leong (Class of 2025), who gave up his senior manager position at the Government Data Office under the Prime Minister’s Office to join Duke-NUS.

“Donning the white coat and reciting the Oath felt both large and heavy with the responsibilities they hold,” said Claire Marie Shrestha (Class of 2025). “Yet I could not help but smile throughout the ceremony as there was both fear and excitement to fulfil them.” Before coming to Duke-NUS, she was Project Co-lead of the NUS Victim Care unit.

The ceremony ended with a virtual wave, bringing together families, friends and well-wishers to wish the new medical students a productive and successful journey to become outstanding clinicians in their time at Duke-NUS.

While the ceremony drew to a close with the wave, those who stayed on just a little longer were rewarded with a unique glimpse of the newest cohort as a photo montage came on, showing some of the new students happiest moments with their families and friends. And as the montage played, the Zoom chat and Facebook comments erupted with the well wishes and messages of congratulations from the students’ families and friends.

Relive the highlights of the ceremony and read more about the Class of 2025.