Four, and in some cases, five, six or even seven years ago, the 98 men and women of the Weill Cornell Medical College graduating class of 2010 likely began their medical educations with a very vague notion of what it meant to be a doctor.
On June 3, as those same 98 men and women — as well as the 13 MD-PhDs, 54 Ph.D.s and 49 master's graduates — received their degrees at the Weill Cornell Medical College, Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar and Weill Cornell Graduate School of Medical Sciences Commencement Exercises held at Carnegie Hall, their individual ideas of what it is to be a doctor, scientist or both may have been focused and refined; but in reality those vocations have changed dramatically.
Health care reform, translational science, global health, and the policies and paradigms of medicine and research have shifted radically since this graduating class began its journey. But a degree from Weill Cornell assures a new graduate that they are more than prepared for this new landscape.
"You are earning degrees from one of the most distinguished medical and graduate institutions in the world — a place of high expectations, rigorous requirements and unswerving commitment to excellence in education, research, patient care and public engagement," said Dr. David J. Skorton, president of Cornell University, in his address to the graduates. "You've met, and often exceeded, the aspirations we had for you when you began your educational journeys at Weill Cornell, and today I join with the faculty and staff, the Board of Overseers, the Board of Trustees, and your families and friends in recognizing you for the achievements, drive and dedication that led to this day.
"Think creatively about how your skills can be used, not in isolation but in collaborative, cross-disciplinary teams to bring medical advances from bench to bedside to community and back again. We look to you, who have accomplished so much during your years at the Medical College and Graduate School, to use your energy, innovation, knowledge and compassion to help provide better care at lower cost to those who need it — in the U.S. and beyond."
Anthony Rosen, the Medical College student chosen by his classmates to speak on their behalf, took a less-than-direct route to medical school, applying at age 32 after spending a few years in the private sector.
"Medicine is certainly changing, and Dr. Skorton, the faculty, our families and friends are calling on us to lead the field forward," Rosen said. "I challenge us all to pursue life-long learning. Perhaps one of us will develop a policy that better delivers care to the underserved. Perhaps one of us will be the one to make a breakthrough in the treatment of Alzheimer's or cancer."
"Many of you know how skilled our students are, but what you might not know is that some of those skills extend beyond the traditional areas where many medical students excel," said Dean Antonio M. Gotto Jr.
In a college-wide effort to draw a stronger connection between medicine and the arts, this year's commencement featured a short musical interlude. Five students — Jenna Devare, Julie Leviter, Curtis O'Neal, Peter Morgenstern and Diego Tucker — played a piece by Mozart, under the direction of Dr. Richard M. Kogan, co-chairman of Weill Cornell's Music and Medicine Initiative.
After Rosen's remarks, Dr. Gotto administered to the graduating class the Hippocratic Oath. Parents, husbands, wives and loved ones starting slipping down the aisles of Carnegie Hall to snap pictures of the brand new doctor in the family.
Photography by Amelia Panico.