White Coats Mark the Beginning for CCOM Class of 2030

For the newest students at Midwestern University’s Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine (CCOM), the white coat is still brand new.

Over the next four years, it will accompany them into classrooms, clinical training, and eventually patient care. But on August 7th, surrounded by family, friends, faculty, and classmates, members of the CCOM Class of 2030 put on their white coats for the first time, marking the beginning of their journey toward becoming osteopathic physicians.

The annual White Coat Ceremony capped a week of orientation at Midwestern University’s Downers Grove Campus.

Meet the Class of 2030

The incoming CCOM class includes 214 students, with an average age of 23. Fifty-seven percent of the class are women and 43 percent are men.

While Illinois is home to the largest number of students in the class, with 95 Illinois residents, the Class of 2030 stretches well beyond the state. Students come from 23 states and three countries. California, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Texas, and Washington are among the most represented states outside Illinois.

Together, they are beginning a four-year medical education that will prepare them to care for patients as osteopathic physicians.

From Orientation to a Shared Purpose

Before receiving their coats, students spent three days getting to know their new campus, classmates, and the expectations of medical school.

Orientation included sessions on academic success, professional identity, student involvement, career development, and professional integrity, along with opportunities to meet student organizations and learn from current CCOM students. 

Class members also worked together to develop a vision statement unique to the Class of 2030 and had the opportunity to participate in a group volunteer activity at Feed My Starving Children, a nonprofit organization that works with volunteers to pack nutritious meals that are distributed to children and families in need around the world.

By Friday afternoon, the focus shifted from getting started to what comes next.

A Coat and a Commitment

At the White Coat Ceremony, CCOM Dean Thomas Boyle, D.O., M.B.A., reminded families that they, too, will be part of the journey ahead. Medical school will require an extraordinary commitment of time and attention from students.

“Your understanding of those demands will be a great help to the students,” Dr. Boyle told family members and friends gathered for the ceremony.

Bruce Wolf, D.O., FAOCR, a 1994 CCOM graduate and president-elect of the American Osteopathic Association, returned to campus to welcome the Class of 2030 to the profession. He encouraged students to see the white coat as a symbol of trust, responsibility, and compassion and to remember the person behind every diagnosis.

“The art of osteopathic medicine is as much about understanding people as it is about diagnosing diseases,” Dr. Wolf said.

Advice from Someone Who Was Just There

For second-year CCOM student and Student Government Association President Maggie DeGiorgio (CCOM ’29) the ceremony offered a chance to speak to students who were exactly where she had been one year earlier.

She encouraged the new class to celebrate what it took to reach medical school, enjoy the experience, and, perhaps most importantly, rely on one another.

“The friendships you make here will last the rest of your lives, so be open, laugh with your friends often, and build a support system you want to support you in return,” she said.

Ready to Begin

Before receiving their coats, members of the Class of 2030 recited an oath of commitment, pledging to respect their teachers, colleagues, patients, and the healthcare professionals who came before them, while committing themselves to continued learning. 

Then, one by one, they stepped forward to receive their white coats, many accompanied by family members who helped them put on the coat for the first time.

Classes began August 10. And with that, the Class of 2030’s journey was officially underway.