Graduate Medical Education White Coat Ceremony

Memorial Healthcare System’s Graduate Medical Education (GME) program presented its newest group of residents at a white coat ceremony in Pembroke Pines.

The offering of the lab coat signifies entry to the next phase of medical training and recipients also recited the Hippocratic oath, a traditional statement of a doctor’s obligations and conduct.

47 physicians joined the program and will train in seven different specialties (internal medicine, pediatrics, physical medicine and rehabilitation, podiatry, general surgery, neurology, and psychiatry).

•    Three specialties (general surgery, psychiatry, and neurology) specifically address areas where the State of Florida has identified a shortage of physicians
•    Memorial’s first class of surgical residents is comprised entirely of women, a rarity in a specialty traditionally populated by men

"There were more than 5,000 applicants for the 47 spots in this year’s class, so the quality of our residents is outstanding,” said Saima Chaudhry, MD, vice president for academic affairs and chief academic officer at Memorial Healthcare System. “There is great demand for our training and history shows many of our doctors will remain in South Florida after their residencies, meaning there will be additional specialists to care for a growing and aging population.”

Florida Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nuñez, the highest-ranking Latina in the state’s political history, was one of the speakers at the ceremony, which was held on the campus of Memorial Hospital West. Chaudhry, Dr. Stanley Marks, Memorial Healthcare System’s senior vice president and chief medical officer, and Dr. David Battinelli also addressed the new physicians.

Since its transition to an academic medical center in 2016, Memorial’s programs have grown to train more than 80 residents, a number that is expected to increase to nearly 300 within three years. An anesthesia program is planned for next year, with OB/GYN likely to follow, pending certification by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education.