Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences & Research hosts ‘White Coat Ceremony’ to welcome the Class of 2024 students!

Chief Guest Dr Rooma Sinha, presents White Coats to the students

Hyderabad, 23rd November 2024: Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences & Research (AIMSR) Hyderabad; hosted the White Coat Ceremony, for the MBBS Class of 2024 students, at the RNR Auditorium, Jubilee Hills, on Nov 22. Chief Guest Dr. Rooma Sinha, Honorary Professor, Gynecology, Apollo Hospitals; presented the White Coats to students on the occasion. Ms. Aparna Reddy, COO, AIMSR; Dr. K. Manohar, Dean, Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences & Research; along with the faculty from the Institute and parents of students, were present to catch a glimpse of the momentous occasion.

Speaking on the occasion Dr. Rooma Sinha said, being a medical student is a life changing event, the two most important attributes to be a doctor are intelligence and hard work, and you have both, because of which you are here. One thing I believe very much, and you must inculcate from today that you are the best advocate for your patient, you need to live up to the trust your patient comes to you with. You need to give him the best advice that you can, if you can’t collaborate with someone and give the best advice, which leaves an impression that you are their best advocate. When you converse with the patient be calm and confident for the patient to trust in what you are doing. Patients don’t need sympathy, they want someone who empathizes with their problem and tries to find a solution for it, therefore empathy with the patient is critical. Honesty is an attribute we need to imbibe, if you don’t know what the patient is suffering from, don’t do what you know, make sure the patient gets the right treatment, the right advice, your honesty will come back to you, if the patient gets better with your advice, they will remember you for life time, that’s the respect a doctor earns in his life, no other profession has that privilege. Be passionate about what you are doing, medicine won’t work without passion.

White Coat Ceremony is a memorable experience for students taking their initial steps into the noble profession of Medicine, by joining the medical school. One hundred and fifty students of the 2024 batch of the Apollo Institute of Medical Sciences & Research, were welcomed into the medical fraternity by the faculty and were ceremonially “cloaked” with their white aprons. The students dressed elegantly in white, later took the Hippocrates oath, traditionally sworn at graduation.

Dr. K. Manohar said, the white coat ceremony marks the beginning of a student’s medical career. This phase needs the utmost attention from each student to lay a strong foundation for the medical career ahead. What we are doing at Apollo is different from any other college in the state. We are the first and the only institute to comply with the CBME curriculum in India and we introduced last year the taking up of proposal of research by the students in the first year itself, they go for data collection with the help of the mentor in the second phase and write the paper in the third year, so that you have good experience of doing some original research work in the field, this will be helpful in the wonderful program designed by NMC called family adoption program. Right from the first phase you are exposed to the society and people and develop a rich experience of communicating and understanding the disease profile in the society, which helps to formulate the problems the society is facing. These experiences will pave the way for brighter future for the students. Medicine is not like other streams, the day when you cease to read, your practice may come to an end, studying is an ongoing process, learning doesn’t stop with fetching a degree, till we die we need to continue updating our knowledge.

Ms. Aparna Reddy said, as you begin your medical journey I urge you to remember the oath you take today, remember the commitment you make to uphold the high standards of professionalism, to respect the autonomy and dignity of the patients and to provide compassionate and evidence based care.