Medical Faculty Students' "White Coat" Enthusiasm

Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine, held a phygital white coat ceremony for its 1st-year students who began their education in the 2020-2021 Academic Year, taking pandemic conditions into consideration. Üsküdar Üniversitesi Founding Rector Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, addressed the students, saying, “In this digital age, those who embrace challenges will succeed. You must be individuals who embrace challenges against the epidemic and have high ideals in life.” In the ceremony where students were gifted stethoscopes and Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan's book 'Being a Conscious Young Person', 'future doctors' donned their white coats and took a group photo with their instructors. 

The White Coat Ceremony, organized for the first-year students of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine and held with pandemic measures at the Central Campus Nermin Tarhan Conference Hall, witnessed joyful and exciting moments.

During the ceremony, broadcast live on ÜÜ TV and Youtube, first-year student Melisa Karakuş, Faculty of Medicine Dean Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur, Acting Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Zelka, and Founding Rector and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan delivered their opening speeches.

Melisa Karakuş: “We are trained as resilient physicians against challenges”

During the ceremony, followed online by families, Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine first-year student Melisa Karakuş first came to the podium for her opening speech. In her speech, Karakuş spoke about their struggles against the difficult conditions of the pandemic, saying, “We are going through a challenging process, but no matter how difficult this process is, it does not affect the education we receive from our school. On the contrary, I believe it will enable us to grow into more resilient physicians despite the difficulties. We extend our gratitude to our esteemed professors who, while we evaluated the medical profession solely from an academic perspective on our first day at the faculty, introduced us to the humanistic and artistic aspects of medicine in the subsequent days of our education. I wholeheartedly believe that our esteemed Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur's words, 'A good doctor comes from good hearts,' will light our way.”

Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur: “The white coat evokes cleanliness, honesty, and hope’

Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine Dean Prof. Dr. Haydar Sur touched upon the meaning and importance of the white coats that students wore for the first time at the ceremony: “In my eyes, the white coat has three meanings. The white coat is honesty. It evokes honesty, truthfulness, and being a good person. I hope you never tarnish the white coat in this regard. The white coat evokes cleanliness. Cleanliness comes from faith. Cleanliness comes from being a good, modern, and civilized person. The white coat evokes hope. We are going through good and bad days. There is no rule that everything will always be good in life. A person who does not look to the future with hope eventually becomes someone in need of help themselves. A doctor, a physician, is the name of a person trained to help others. Therefore, if students, as new doctor candidates, are without hope, they cannot extend a helping hand to others. May the white coat give hope, and may those hopes come true.”

Prof. Dr. Mehmet Zelka: “Trust rate in white coat is 89.4 percent”

Later, Acting Rector Prof. Dr. Mehmet Zelka, taking the podium, reminded that there are important periods in people's lives, stating, “The most significant of these began on the day they gained admission to their chosen faculty. Today, our students have taken another step into the profession by donning their white coats. In one of the studies conducted regarding the white coat, 64.9% of patients or people asked preferred and recommended doctors wearing white coats as a symbol of trust. The rate of those who perceive it as a symbol of trust has been reflected in some studies as 89.4 percent. The medical profession is very important in terms of privacy and being able to touch people's lives. When we consider the importance of touching human lives, the significance of the profession becomes much more evident.”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “To be a good physician, one must be a good person”

Finally, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, who came to the podium, began his opening speech by stating that the white coat and stethoscope have symbolic values.

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “I define the stethoscope as a very difficult-to-obtain, very valuable, and costly symbol. Students dedicate six years and sleepless nights to their medical education. All these efforts are medals that students hang around their necks. The stethoscope also has significant value for students as a medal. At the white coat ceremonies I'm invited to, they ask me to explain 'How to be a good physician?' I always emphasize being a good person before being a good physician. One cannot be a good physician without being a good person. If a person is self-interested, if their dreams are solely focused on their own benefit, they might become someone who earns a lot, but they cannot be a good physician.”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “Ibn-i Sina and Sabuncuoğlu were both physicians and sages”

Recalling that when the plague epidemic broke out, Ibn-i Sina's students were told to flee, Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan said, “Ibn-i Sina, however, stated that they could not flee and that their duty was to help people, acting boldly. After examining people, he used vinegar to wash his hands. One of the famous Turkish physicians is Sabuncuoğlu. During the plague epidemic, he said, 'Eat well, sleep well, greet from a distance.' He spoke about social distancing, which we apply today. He said, 'Eat well, keep your immune system strong.' During the pandemic, people's sleep patterns were disrupted the most.  After that, other psychiatric illnesses and immune system problems began to emerge. These are experiences accumulated over centuries. Ibn-i Sina and Sabuncuoğlu were not only physicians but also became sages by acting with wisdom. Azerbaijani Turks have a very beautiful saying. It says: 'I eat little, I have no business with doctors; I walk straight, I have no business with judges.' This is actually a part of the principle of being a good person.”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan: “You must embrace challenges against the epidemic”

Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan, stating that the era of digital revolution is being experienced, gave young people the following important advice: “A digital revolution is taking place in this era. In this digital age, those who embrace challenges will succeed. The biggest risk for the generation we call Generation Z right now is their tendency to be more conformist, wanting to achieve everything easily. You must be individuals who embrace challenges against the epidemic and have high ideals in life. You must have an EGO ideal. You need to determine what kind of person you want to be, how you want to be remembered, and what kind of life you want to lead. If you are not pursuing a meaning, if you do not have a meaningful purpose, you will miss and lose many opportunities like a person who just moves forward without foresight, without a sense of outcome.”

The 'White Coat Ceremony' organized for the first-year students of Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine concluded after the professors presented the students with their white coats and stethoscopes, along with Prof. Dr. Nevzat Tarhan's book 'Being a Conscious Young Person', and a group photo was taken.