83 doctors-in-training at the UQ-Ochsner MD program receive white coats

New Orleans - The University of Queensland Medical School – Ochsner Health (UQ-Ochsner MD) honored its doctors-in-training on Saturday, Jan. 10 at its 16th annual White Coat Ceremony, a rite of passage for medical students held to emphasize the importance of compassionate patient care from the start of medical training. During the event, 83 students set to begin their clinical training in New Orleans received their white coats and were honored with Humanism in Medicine pins – a visual symbol displayed on the lapel of each white coat to remind students to keep empathy at the center of clinical practice. Neej J. Patel, MD, a gastroenterologist at Ochsner and graduate of the UQ-Ochsner MD program, served as the keynote speaker.  

UQ-Ochsner MD students spend their first two years of the program in Brisbane, Australia. During their third and fourth years, they gain hands-on clinical practice at Ochsner Health in New Orleans.  Before the White Coat Ceremony, UQ-Ochsner officials held a welcoming reception for incoming third-year students and their families, where Ochsner officials welcomed medical students transitioning from Australia to New Orleans for their third year of medical education as current fourth-year students hosted campus tours.   

The festivities concluded with a recitation of the UQ-Ochsner MD Oath, which serves as the official start to the second phase of the UQ-Ochsner MD program focused on clinical experiences. 

“At the University of Queensland Medical School – Ochsner Health, we are proud to carry the tradition of the White Coat Ceremony, symbolizing a fundamental belief in a caring, professional medical system,” said Ronald Amedee, MD, director of the UQ-Ochsner Doctor of Medicine program. “We hope that our patients and community members will see a ‘cloak of compassion’ when they encounter our physicians-in-training, and we are proud to support this momentous occasion as our students continue their journeys to become physicians.” 

Medical students from UQ-Ochsner who received their white coats are encouraged to participate in community service projects facilitated by the Ochsner Medical Student Association (OMSA), a student advocacy organization. Students volunteer with programs such as the New Orleans area chapter of Habitat for Humanity, an organization aiming to make homeownership more attainable and revitalize communities, and Walk with a Future Doc, a national non-profit that encourages healthy physical activity for people of all ages. Students also volunteer with The Miracle League, which provides an opportunity for children with disabilities to participate in sports, and the UQ STAR mentorship program, through which medical students mentor a select cohort of high school seniors by teaching clinical skills and other knowledge. 

Dr. Patel, who has served at Ochsner since September 2022, completed the Internal Medicine Residency program at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Florida. He subsequently completed the Gastroenterology and Hepatology Fellowship at the Mayo Clinic Arizona in Phoenix/Scottsdale, Arizona, and then went on to further subspecialize by completing the Advanced Endoscopy Fellowship at Dartmouth in New Hampshire. He now practices advanced endoscopy at Ochsner. He performs a range of complex therapeutic GI procedures, such as endoscopic ultrasound and ERCP to detect and treat both benign and malignant pancreaticobiliary diseases. He also performs interventional upper and lower endoscopies to treat pre-cancerous luminal GI lesions through endoscopic tissue resections and ablative therapies. Dr. Patel enjoys teaching and mentoring GI fellows and serves on the fellowship's core competency committee. 

For more information visit https://ochsner.uq.edu.au/. To see more photos from the ceremony, click here: https://ochsner.imagerelay.com/fl/1eb9b06b8241434686ddb57f1e61faf1