As we do every August, we welcomed our 32 newest students to the CCLCM and Cleveland Clinic families. Each year I marvel at the tremendous amount of learning that will go on from the time the new students set foot in the Health Education Campus to the time they walk across the Severance Hall stage to receive their diploma.
The learning is mutual. We continually learn from our students how to be better educators and mentors, evolve the curriculum and make CCLCM an even better place to learn and grow.
I encourage you to read more about the exceptional students who comprise the CCLCM Class of 2027.
I also want to extend my sincere gratitude to the CCLCM staff and faculty who devote considerable time and energy every year to orienting the new class of students. Orientation week requires a level of planning and coordination that risks being underappreciated because the entire week, which is jam-packed with activities, flows seamlessly. Again, please allow me to thank the CCLCM staff and faculty for the work they invest in orientation week.
Orientation week culminates in the time-honored tradition of the White Coat Ceremony. As I remarked during this year’s ceremony, I’ve noticed a paradigm shift in the way physicians think about their patients. More and more, we are looking beyond the individual patient and thinking about the needs of society as a whole. This thinking is part of the philosophy at CCLCM. We are embracing social justice and the need to confront pressing social issues such as women’s health and reproductive choice; gun violence; health equity; climate change; and COVID-19.
The Class of 2027 and their peers will encounter these challenges and many more. We need them, as future physicians, to help solve these problems, shape the world of medicine and lead by example. I am inspired by each new class of students that enters CCLCM. Their curiosity, compassion for others and desire to make a difference fill me with confidence, not only for the profession of medicine but for the betterment of society.
Bud Isaacson, MD
Executive Dean
