Healthy welcome to new class

One thousand six hundred and ninety-one days since it was first proposed, 410 days after it was certified by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and less than one day before the start of classes, The Commonwealth Medical College (TCMC) officially welcomed the school’s charter class on Sunday.

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State senator Robert Mellow speaks at the convocation of The Commonwealth Medical College on Sunday afternoon. Mellow, who helped procure start-up funding for the school, received its first honorary degree for ‘his steadfast support, his belief and his passion’ for the medical college.
Don Carey / The Times Leader
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Margaret Mathewson, of Dallas, signs the convocation oath of The Commonwealth Medical College during a ceremony Sunday afternoon.
Don Carey / The Times Leader
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In a ceremony full of praise for all who made the college a reality, President and Founding Dean Robert D’Alessandri, M.D., presided over the inaugural convocation, held in TCMC’s temporary home at Lackawanna College.

“I feel great,” D’Alessandri said moments before the ceremony, which officially began the first year for the first independent medical college in the United States in more than 50 years and the first medical college in Pennsylvania since Hershey Medical Center opened theirs in 1962.

“I couldn’t be more pleased with this inaugural class. We have 65 students, with 75 percent from Pennsylvania including 18 from this region. That’s the largest percentage of students from the state in any college,” he said. “I’m very impressed with this class, especially their commitment and dedication to service.”

D’Alessandri recognized the school’s founders, board, faculty, the community and the students for taking “a leap of faith” in a school with no track record and, for the moment, no facilities of its own. “We’ll never forget that you took this leap of faith with us,” D’Alessandri told the class of 2013. “I promise you we will not let you down.”

There was also praise for State Senator Robert J. Mellow, who received the school’s first honorary degree for what D’Alessandri called “his steadfast support, his belief and his passion” for the school.

Mellow, who helped procure start-up funding for the college, received a standing ovation from the more than 600 present.

Before the ceremony, Mellow said he was “overwhelmed” to receive the honor. “Every place there is a medical college, there is prosperity,” Mellow said. “I don’t think we can calculate the value of this day to the economy and health of this area.”

Also recognized were the first three recipients of the President’s Distinguished Service Awards. Denise Cesare, TCMC board member and Chief Executive Officer of Blue Cross of Northeastern Pennsylvania, accepted an award on behalf of Blue Cross NEPA, which donated $75 million towards start-up costs. Robert Wright, M.D., chairman of TCMC’s trustees and founder of the Scranton Temple Residency Program, was honored for recognizing the need for a medical college in the area and his assistance in making it a reality. Robert Naismith, Ph.D, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Roosevelt Capital Partners and Director of Penn Security Bank, was recognized for giving his “time, his advice and his imagination in making this day a part of history.”

But Sunday’s focus was the college’s first class, as each signed a convocation oath that said, in part, the class vows “always to act to preserve the finest traditions of my college and profession, and long may I experience the joy of healing those who seek my help.”

“I’m excited to finally get going and be part of this,” said Meg Mathewson, one of 25 women in the class. Mathewson, a Dallas resident and University of Scranton graduate, said she chose TCMC because it seemed community-oriented. Mathewson said she’ll wait until she does her rotations to decide on a specialty, but is leaning toward pediatrics or sports medicine. “It’s just really cool to be able to go here, in my hometown area,” she said. “And yes, I plan to stay here to practice.”

Having their son, Scott, choose an unproven school didn’t concern Stephen and Barbara Dalanes, who traveled from Vernon, N.J., for the ceremony. They said the college was highly recommended by the world-renowned surgeons Scott worked with last year in Philadelphia. “This is a unique opportunity for Scott,” said Stephen. “We’re very thankful they were able to get the college started this fast.” Barbara praised the support from the school’s staff and community. “This has been such a great experience,” she said.

For the class, the next step is the start of classes at 8 a.m. today, but D’Alessandri is already looking ahead. “There are 1,365 days until graduation,” he said. “I think that day will be the culmination of all we want to do for this area and we want the community there with us. I think we’ll rent the stadium and invite the whole town!”


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FIU medical students to get their `white coats

The White Coat Ceremony -- a medical school ritual held before classes officially begin -- arrives Friday at Florida International University.

That's when the new medical school's inaugural class of 43 students will be presented their medical coats, a sign that their journey toward becoming physicians has begun. ``The White Coat Ceremony is their rite of passage, their formal introduction to the art of healing. Once they put their coats on, they will be changed forever, '' said John Rock, the founding dean of the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine.

The public ceremony will be held at 4 p.m. at the school's performing arts center at FIU's Modesto A. Maidique Campus, 11200 SW Eighth St.

Each student will receive a traditional white medical coat. The student coats will be short in order to distinguish them from doctors when doing their clinical rotations at hospitals.

They will also be given a stethoscope, donated by Leon Medical Centers. In 2008, Benjamin León Jr., founder of Leon Medical Centers, donated $10 million to the medical school.

The first full-fledged White Coat Ceremony was held in 1993 at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. More than 100 medical schools in the United States now hold the ceremonies at the start of the year.


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