A white coat ceremony was held for first-year students of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan addressed the young people experiencing the excitement of the ceremony. Tarhan said; “Doing your job well means quality management. A person who prioritizes money and earnings cannot be a good physician. If one does their job well first, financial gain will follow. The quality of the work a person does, and its quality in terms of human values, are two fundamental characteristics for a physician.”
Enthusiasm and excitement were experienced at the ceremony organized for the first-year students of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine, held at the NP Dental and Health Campus, Ibn-i Sina Auditorium. In the event, which attracted great interest from academics and families, parents who saw their children in white coats experienced emotional moments.
The ceremony, broadcast live on ÜÜ TV and YouTube, and conducted in English and Turkish, began with opening speeches by first-year Faculty of Medicine students Hüda Zemzem and Tuğçe Uysal.
Hüda Zemzem: “The effort behind the scenes is much more than what is visible…”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine first-year student Hüda Zemzem stated in her opening speech that they have come to realize the existence of the patient, not just the disease, by prioritizing the patient's best interest. Zemzem said; “Today, by wearing the white coat, we are stepping into a brand new life. Throughout the entire process up to today, we carry the efforts of many people, from all our teachers who brought us here to our friends who always supported us. Before coming to Üsküdar Üniversitesi, I researched, just like all of us. The professors' competence, the opportunities offered by the university, one microscope per student in practical lessons, and the library facilities were already sufficient for me to choose it. However, once I got involved, both as a class representative and as a student of the school, I saw that the effort behind the scenes was much more than what was visible. All units of our university work with great dedication.”
Tuğçe Uysal: “Üsküdar provided not only academic knowledge but also the experiences that advance us”
Tuğçe Uysal, first-year English class representative of the Faculty of Medicine, also mentioned that the academics were like torches for them. Uysal said; “I often speak of a home I have, Darüşşafaka. At Darüşşafaka, we saw that education is more effective in a peaceful environment and that being close to educators maximizes the benefits a student can receive. I am very grateful to our professors who provided us not only with academic knowledge but also with accumulations that advance us for humanity. By not building a wall with their titles, they taught us a very important value from the very beginning. We promise that as long as you are a torch for us on this path, this youth will carry the flame of science by fanning it.”
Dr. Hişam Alahdab: “Accessing information is now much easier”
Ataşehir Memorial Medical Director Dr. Hişam Alahdab stated in his speech that technology has caused a rapid transformation. Alahdab said; “30 years ago, I was in your place, and they used to tell us that medical knowledge was rapidly expanding. About 30 years ago, medical knowledge doubled approximately every 6 years, but now your job is very difficult because medical knowledge now doubles every 2 months. We see the biggest change actually in this rapidly growing mountain of information, but I have good news: accessing information is now much easier. We have many channels and many different ways of learning. We have important values that have not changed and are never expected to change. A good physician must first and foremost be a good person.”
Dr. Mehmet Topal: “As long as we value human qualities, we will be better physicians”
NPİSTANBUL Brain Hospital Medical Education Coordinator Dr. Mehmet Topal stated that entering medical school is a series of values. Topal said; “Choosing the medical profession is very important and valuable. Entering medical school and becoming a doctor is actually a series of values. In today's information age, while everyone has access to information, our access is, of course, much easier, as is yours, but as long as we value these human qualities, we will be much better physicians and be able to do beneficial things for humanity. At the forefront of these is being human first.”
Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur: “We will protect what has been entrusted to us…”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine Dean Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur emphasized the importance of communication with students and teaching them things. Sur said; “We are integrated here. In our internal reflection, the question of how much value we have produced in the world has now completely seized us. If we can make this warm contact with our students and extend our hand to them, then we will leave this reflection happily, and then death will also become easier for us. Thank you for raising these wonderful children and entrusting them to us. We promise you that we will protect what has been entrusted to us and will not betray it. We will hand over this country to the youth.”
Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak: “A good physician is one who loves people”
Üsküdar Üniversitesi Vice Rector Prof. Dr. Hikmet Koçak stated that master-apprentice work is necessary to gain skills. Koçak said; “Medicine is as old as human history. Medicine has existed since the first human. Looking back, we see that physicians also stood out with different professions and even wrote some philosophical books. This means that the sacred profession is not just about serving a physical body. While treating the body and organic diseases and helping it, we need to consider the spiritual aspect, which is another dimension of being human. A good physician is one who loves people. Is loving people enough? No, but one of the primary prerequisites for medicine is perhaps loving people. The second is to possess knowledge and skills. You can obtain knowledge from many different sources, and some information can even change daily, but skill is definitely master-apprentice work. You will learn it from your master somewhere; you will apprentice to your masters.”
Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Knowledge needs to be transformed into an art”
Finally, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan took the podium for the opening speeches. Tarhan emphasized that a person who has not chosen to be a good human being as their ego ideal cannot be a good physician; “Medicine has a scientific aspect and an artistic aspect. For this reason, in medicine, it is not enough to just acquire knowledge; that knowledge also needs to be transformed into an art. This is learned through master-apprentice relationships. It is learned through experience. Therefore, the skills you will gain here through practice will be more important than the knowledge you learn from theoretical books. Various universities had invited me to white coat ceremonies or opening conferences before the pandemic, asking, ‘What kind of physician should a physician be?’ Being intelligent and hardworking is always mentioned, but there is a third indispensable quality in medicine: being a good person. A person who has not chosen to be a good human being as their ego ideal cannot be a good physician. They would be a physician with capitalist ethics. They might be successful but cannot be happy. For this, my most important advice to young people in doctor-patient relationships is to combine personal humility with professional ambition. Both can coexist. This is not an obstacle. It is important that you are passionate about reading books and following innovations. Because the half-life of information has shortened significantly. While it used to be thirty years, it has now fallen to three years. In medicine, this has become even more pronounced. In particular, you must have a principle of doing your job well. Doing your job well means quality management. A person who prioritizes money and earnings cannot be a good physician. If one does their job well first, financial gain will already follow. The quality of the work a person does, and its quality in terms of human values, are two fundamental characteristics for a physician.”
Music recital listened to with appreciation…
During the white coat ceremony, the music recital by first-year Faculty of Medicine students Zeynep Coşar on piano and Şule Yılmaz on violin was listened to with appreciation by those attending the ceremony.
The academic staff, including Founding Rector and Chairman of the Executive Board Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, Tarhan Foundation Board Member Fırat Tarhan, and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur, presented the white coats to the students.
In the ceremony where each student was also given a stethoscope, students were also gifted the book ‘Being a Conscious Young Person’ penned by Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan.
The White Coat Ceremony concluded with a group souvenir photo.
