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Graduates recite the Hippocratic Oath as part of becoming physicians.
Image by JohnPaul Jones
College of Medicine Administers Hippocratic Oath, Applauds 157 Graduates
| The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Medicine honored its 157 graduates constituting the Class of 2023 at a convocation ceremony May 19 that touched on the students’ resilience during a pandemic, and the responsibility and hope that lie before them.
“Despite a pandemic and the challenges it brought, you persevered throughout your medical school experience and will more than likely be better physicians because of what you experienced,” UAMS Health CEO and UAMS Chancellor Cam Patterson, M.D., MBA, told the graduates and their friends and family members who gathered in the Wally Allen Ballroom at the Statehouse Convention Center.
Interim College of Medicine Dean and Executive Vice Chancellor G. Richard Smith, M.D., addresses the graduates.JohnPaul Jones
He told them that four years of studying hard, being sleep-deprived and missing social and family functions was hard, “but look at you — you made it!”
“You demonstrated capability, commitment, grit and determination, as well as the desire to put the interests of others ahead of your own,” Patterson said. “You are ready for the next step in your careers. From now on, your success will be measured by how you provide leadership toward a healthier future for everyone in society, as well as your patients and families.”
Patterson urged the graduates to never forget why they entered medical school and to always remember that “medicine is first and foremost a profession with obligations to society.”
Richard Smith, M.D., interim College of Medicine dean and executive vice chancellor, is a former dean of the college and founding director of the UAMS Psychiatric Institute who came out of retirement to lead the college on an interim basis following the Dec. 31, 2022, death of Dean Susan Smyth, M.D., Ph.D.. He led the graduates in reciting the Hippocratic Oath, followed by the students walking onstage to be draped in their doctoral hoods.
“I think your perseverance and your adaptability says a lot about your potential as you start the next phase of your training to embark on your careers,” Smith said.
Reciting the Hippocratic Oath to transition to physicians.
The pandemic prompted the cancellation of most in-person classes just a year into the students’ four-year program, disrupting the typical medical school experience until COVID-19 restrictions began easing up in their final year.
The classmates will soon begin another four to seven years of training through their residencies in Arkansas and 29 other states.
Lindsey Sward, M.D., assistant dean for clinical education and an associate professor of obstetrics/gynecology, told the students that as they transition into physicians, they mustn’t forget the compassionate side of medicine.
“People remember compassion more than anything else,” she said. “You can be the most brilliant surgeon or pathologist or anesthesiologist in your field, but patients remember the compassion that you show them. They remember the doctor who cares enough to call them at home after-hours with a lab result or who takes the extra time to answer questions and address concerns. They remember the doctor who treats them like people, not just diagnoses and diseases.
“So when you make those choices each day about who it is that you want to be, choose compassion and kindness. I want you all to be competent and knowledgeable, but more than anything, I want you to truly care. If that one principle guides the decisions you make each day, then the future of medicine is a bright one indeed.”
Ethan Clement (right) tied with Anna Mears (not pictured) to win the Winston K. Shorey Award, awarded to the graduates whose classmates think most closely reflect the qualities of an ideal physician.JohnPaul Jones
Senior Ethan Clement, who is headed to a residency in emergency medicine, began her delivery of the class response by playing a video of several members of the class remembering the intimidating aspects of their first day of medical school and ending with an admonishment to “go forth with bravery and hope.”
In a reflection of a nationwide push to increase the number of primary care physicians, particularly in largely rural states such as Arkansas, about half of the newly minted doctors are headed to residencies in primary care specialties, including 34 in internal medicine, 21 in family medicine, seven in obstetrics-gynecology, 10 in pediatrics and four in Med-Peds, a combined internal medicine and pediatrics program.
Image by JohnPaul Jones