A Fitting Start to a Medical Career: A New White Coat
The longest journey begins with a single step, but for first-year students at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, their path toward becoming physicians began with the single, symbolic act of donning a white coat. A simple bit of attire that means so much.

The 102 members of SMD’s Class of 2028 celebrated the start of their medical careers at the 19th annual Robert L. & Lillian H. Brent White Coat Ceremony on Aug. 16. They gathered with faculty, family, and friends at the Larry and Cindy Bloch Alumni and Advancement Center to hear from faculty and fellow students about the challenges and rewards of their chosen career – and to bond as a group of colleagues who will learn from and support each other over the next four years.

New Art Space in Neurology Embraces Diversity and Equity
The Department of Neurology has opened the doors on a new art gallery that will feature diverse artistic voices. Under the stewardship of noted Rochester artist Shawn Dunwoody, the Unity Gallery will leverage art to provoke thought, encourage dialogue, and celebrate the voices, minds, and faces that shape the community and medicine.

The Unity Gallery is in Department of Neurology’s Joynt Corridor located in 5.4300 in Strong Memorial Hospital and is open to visitors from 11:00 AM to 4:00 PM on weekdays. The works can also be viewed virtually on the Unity Gallery website.

URMC Named Batten Disease Center of Excellence
The Batten Disease Support, Research, and Advocacy (BDSRA) Foundation has designated the University of Rochester Batten Center (URBC) as a Center of Excellence. This recognition highlights URBC’s dedication to providing specialized multidisciplinary care and advancing research for Batten diseases, a collection of rare and fatal neurodegenerative disorders affecting children.

This announcement, made at the BDSRA Foundation’s Annual Family Conference, is part of a broader initiative to improve patient outcomes and support families impacted by Batten diseases. URBC is one of only five institutions named by the organization as a Center of Excellence and is part of the newly established University of Rochester Golisano Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Institute.

What The Streets Teach
Classes teach medicine, but Street Outreach helps teach how to connect with patients in ways that most students would never expect. It asks student volunteers to have hope for people who have sometimes lost all hope themselves, mirroring how society tends to view them. At times, these volunteers are trying to support people who have nobody else left who believes in them.

If the future of medicine depends on more equitable health care, participants in this program would say that learning on the streets of Rochester is helping to prepare them for that future.

Class of 2028 Code of Conduct
Every year, our incoming class creates a Code of Conduct which is a reminder to our students why they have chosen medicine.