{"id":111367,"date":"2020-07-28T11:08:39","date_gmt":"2020-07-28T15:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=111367"},"modified":"2020-09-30T10:06:08","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T14:06:08","slug":"class-of-2024-needed-now-more-than-ever-as-they-begin-ucf-med-school","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ucf.edu\/news\/class-of-2024-needed-now-more-than-ever-as-they-begin-ucf-med-school\/","title":{"rendered":"Class of 2024 \u2018Needed Now More Than Ever\u2019 as They Begin UCF Med School"},"content":{"rendered":"

Kyle Benkel \u201920<\/strong> traded his UCF football jersey<\/a> for a white coat Monday \u2014 even though his new uniform, recognizing him as a physician-in-training, came in a plastic bag instead of being presented at a ceremony.<\/p>\n

Benkel was one of 120 new College of Medicine<\/a> students who began training at a time drastically changed by COVID-19. There was no traditional White Coat Ceremony with each student coated by Deborah German, vice president for health affairs and founding dean of UCF\u2019s medical school, in front of family and friends. Instead, this year\u2019s event was included drive-through and virtual components. Office of Student Affairs leaders and staff put backpacks containing supplies and a white coat into each students\u2019 car trunk. Orientation and classes begin today, virtually.<\/p>\n

\u201cWow, it\u2019s like my new jersey,\u201d says Benkel as he took a brand-new white coat out of its packaging and held it up to his chest. A wide receiver on the team that beat Auburn in the 2018 Peach Bowl, Benkel is also an honors graduate of the Burnett School of Biomedical Sciences<\/a> who decided to enter medicine after seeing how physicians healed him twice from football injuries when he was a teen.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt means the world to me to be able to come to UCF and study medicine,\u201d he says. \u201cI learned a lot of different things from football \u2014 and a lot of it is overcoming adversity. So, whenever I\u2019m faced with a challenge, I know that I can conquer it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of those challenges is the physical distancing required during the pandemic. Some students said they were saddened they couldn\u2019t participate in the traditional White Coat Ceremony and meet new classmates in person. But several said the reality of COVID-19 had strengthened their passion for medicine.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis pandemic really emphasizes the important role a physician plays and it has made my passion stronger.\u201d – Hannah Sage \u201920<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThis pandemic really emphasizes the important role a physician plays and it has made my passion stronger,\u201d says Hannah Sage \u201920<\/strong>, a mathematics<\/a> graduate who had placed third in the 2018 National Jeopardy College Challenge before coming to medical school. \u201cIt makes me want to be able to help. I\u2019m so close, but I still can\u2019t. So I\u2019m excited to learn what I can and make my impact in a couple years.\u201d<\/p>\n

During a videotaped portion of the event, German talked about the current state of the nation as students begin their training.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are unsettling times. We\u2019re fighting a pandemic and racial injustice,\u201d she said to the new class. \u201cBut this is a time for you to rise to the occasion \u2014 through your compassion, humility and professionalism.\u201d<\/p>\n

At each year\u2019s White Coat Ceremony, new medical students participate in their first lesson \u2014 \u201cThe Good Doctor\u201d, a UCF tradition. There, German asks students to imagine the person they love most and then describe the traits they want their beloved person\u2019s physician to have. As students list the characteristics, their dean writes the words on a blackboard that is displayed all year in the College of Medicine rotunda.<\/p>\n

This year, the tradition was also adapted for a virtual setting. Each student emailed in 10 to 15 words and German wrote on a blackboard the most chosen characteristics \u2014 including \u201ccompassionate\u201d, \u201chumble\u201d, \u201cknowledgeable\u201d, \u201cethical\u201d, \u201creliable\u201d, \u201ctrustworthy\u201d, \u201ccaring\u201d, \u201chonest\u201d and \u201crespectful\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have defined \u2018The Good Doctor\u2019,\u201d German said as she stood in front of the board. \u201cThese words will stay in the rotunda until the Class of 2025 arrives. Everyone who enters the medical school will see the contract you have made with each other, with your faculty, your community and with me.\u201d<\/p>\n