2023 White Coat Ceremony Program

Presenting the Class of 2027

Friday, September 22, 2023
12:00 & 2:00 pm

Sponsored by the SUNY Downstate College of Medicine Alumni Association

Order of Exercises | Oath | Class of 2027 | Speaker Biography | Acknowledgements

Order of Exercises

INTRODUCTION

Jeffrey S. Putman, Ed.D.
Vice President for Academic & Student Affairs

GREETINGS

Wayne J. Riley, M.D., MPH, MBA, MACP
President

F. Charles Brunicardi, M.D., FACS
Dean of the College of Medicine

KEYNOTE SPEAKER

David H. Berger, M.D.
College of Medicine, Class of 1984
Chief Executive Officer, University Hospital at Downstate

PRESENTATION OF THE CLASS OF 2027

MARSHALS

Riccardo Bianchi, Ph.D.
Associate Dean of Foundations

Elka Jacobson-Dickman, M.D.
Associate Dean for Clinical Medicine

Jason Lazar, M.D., MPH
Vice Dean for Education

Antonia Quinn, D.O.
Associate Dean for Clinical Skills

NAME READER

Christopher A. J. Roman, Ph.D.
Interim Chair & Associate Professor, Department of Cell Biology

COATING OF STUDENTS

Carla Boutin-Foster, M.D., MSc
Associate Dean for Diversity Education and Research

Panos Kougias, M.D.
Chair & Associate Professor, Surgery

Oath for Teachers and Learners at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University

Wayne J. Riley, M.D., MPH, MBA, MACP
President

Order of Exercises | Oath | Class of 2027 | Speaker Biography | Acknowledgements

Oath for Teachers and Learners at Suny Downstate Health Sciences University

FACULTY & STUDENTS

"We pledge to serve our patients, their families, our community and each other, with respect, integrity, competence, compassion, humility, and humanity. We hold as our ideal the care and treatment of all of our patients. From them we will learn. We hold as our ideal the advancement of knowledge. Through it disease will be understood, prevented and cured. We hold as our ideal open-minded collaboration. To this we are collectively committed. We hold as our ideal critical self-evaluation. Through this we will grow."

FACULTY

"We, your faculty, promise to serve as worthy role models, as our own teachers have before us."

STUDENTS

"We, your students, recognize the expertise and commitment of those from whom we learn."

FACULTY

"We promise to support your personal and professional growth, in the clinic, in the laboratory, in the community, and in your own teaching."

STUDENTS

"We promise to pursue responsibly in our calling to patient care, to service, and to research."

FACULTY

"We promise to maintain an environment where scientific integrity and ethical standards sustain your trust in us."

STUDENTS

"We commit ourselves to the highest standards of academic honesty, scientific integrity and ethical practice as both students and in our professional lives."

FACULTY & STUDENTS

"We honor and embrace the SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine history of and commitment to service to the people of the Borough of Brooklyn, the City of New York, our nation and the global community. We support its rich tradition of teaching and research excellence. We accept the challenges and opportunities of those alumni whom we follow. We humbly commit to serve humanity—caring for the sick, promoting good health, and alleviating pain and suffering. We will not permit considerations of race, religion, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, nationality, or social standing to influence our duty of care. We solemnly pledge our commitment to this oath and our assistance to others who pledge the same."

Adapted from oaths used at The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, the University of San Francisco School of Medicine and the University of Namibia Medical School and modified for SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University College of Medicine.

 

Order of Exercises | Oath | Class of 2027 | Speaker Biography | Acknowledgements

Class of 2027

Order of Exercises | Oath | Class of 2027 | Speaker Biography | Acknowledgements

Speaker Biography

David H. Berger, M.D.

College of Medicine, Class of 1984
Chief Executive Officer, University Hospital at Downstate

With more than 25 years of healthcare leadership experience at several academic institutions, Dr. Berger leads the University Hospital at Downstate and its inpatient and outpatient services, accountable care organizations, community health centers, home care, and other related entities. He provides operational and fiscal oversight for UHD and oversees the development and implementation of hospital-wide policies and procedures that promote quality patient care and patient satisfaction.

Prior to joining Downstate, Dr. Berger served as the Chief Operating Officer, Interim Chief Medical Officer, and Professor of Surgery at the University of Florida Health Central Florida. Dr. Berger spent 20 years at Baylor College of Medicine where he rose to the rank of Full Professor with Tenure.  During his tenure at Baylor, he was Chief Medical Officer, then Vice President, Chief Clinical Officer and finally Chief Operating Officer at Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center.

Dr. Berger has more than 200 published medical publications and has been the recipient of prestigious awards as the President-elect, Association for Academic Surgery, President, Association for Academic Surgery.

A Brooklyn native, Dr. Berger holds a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Harpur College at SUNY Binghamton and a Master of Science in Healthcare Management from Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He received his medical degree and completed a general surgery residency right here at SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University and is a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society.  Additionally, he completed a fellowship in surgical oncology at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

Order of Exercises | Oath | Class of 2027 | Speaker Biography | Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge the support of the College of Medicine Alumni Association, the Division of Student Affairs, Office of Student Life and the Office of the Dean of the College of Medicine.

White Coat Gold Pins were provided by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.

The White Coats for the Class of 2027 have been generously donated by the Alumni Association for the College of Medicine. We offer special thanks to The Board of Trustees of the Alumni Fund and The Board of Managers of the Alumni Association as well as the individual alumni listed below who sponsored coats!

Order of Exercises | Oath | Class of 2027 | Speaker Biography | Acknowledgements

Congratulations to the Class of 2027!