The PharmD Class of 2029 entered into their first year of pharmacy school last week, culminating with the annual White Coat ceremony. With family, friends, and faculty in attendance, students donned their white coats for the first time, a tradition that celebrates the responsibility and trust that comes with becoming a future pharmacist.
For anyone unfamiliar, a white coat ceremony is a big deal. It marks a healthcare doctoral learner’s entrance into their program, where over the next four years they will earn their degree and set a foundation for the pharmacist they will become.
Lucas Orth, PharmD, Associate Clinical Professor at the University of Colorado Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, greeted the class and explained the significance of the white coat.
“This coat isn’t magic,” he said. “It doesn’t instantly make you a pharmacist. It’s more like a promise; a promise to learn, to grow, to hold yourself to the highest standards, and to put patients first.”
This year’s class is one of the largest to enter CU Pharmacy in recent memory. With 123 students, including 38 in the Rocky Mountain Remote cohort, that’s a lot of new learners putting patients first.
“Of all the great things I love about pharmacy,” Dr. Orth continued, “I think that the ability it provides to pivot is among the best features of our profession. Over the next four years you will likely pivot and pivot again, and we as a profession have pivoted over and over, and you should be excited today to enter a career where that is not only possible but expected.”
Pharmacists are experts at pivoting. A PharmD grants access to over 100 career paths, from community pharmacy to hospital settings, research to industry and academia. Pharmacists are needed in every setting, from metropolitan hospitals doing groundbreaking research and clinical trials, to rural communities where pharmacists often serve as the only available healthcare provider. .
The pharmacy field is diverse, and so is the PharmD Class of 2029. The class is 44% white, 18% multiracial, 17% Asian, 11% Hispanic, and 8.5% Black. They come from 29 U.S. States and three countries. They are 66% female and 44% male; they range in age from 18 to 50; they speak 27 different languages; they are 33% first generation; and they are arriving with over 170,000 hours of previous pharmacy experience. Their collective differences make for a strong class, to grow, learn, and spread their knowledge.
Assistant Dean for Student Affairs, Michael Wolcott, PharmD, had the privilege of welcoming the new learners for their white coat. With each student, Dr. Wolcott included an interesting fact about them. Many are twins; some are excited for Red Rocks; one has a huge fear of needles but is embracing change for the sake of immunization training; one has a home baking business specializing in lactation cookies; we have a few gamers, quite a bit of snowboarders, and some self-proclaimed Swifties. (No worries, Wolcott is a Swiftie as well). The class’s interests are as diverse as they are.
Orth had more advice for the class, based on his own personal interest: birdwatching.
“Since I love birds, let me tell you... there’s a stage in every bird’s life when they’ve got their new feathers, but they’re not quite sure what to do with them,” he said. “They hop around the branch, flap awkwardly, maybe crash into a bush or two. But each attempt gets them closer to flight. That’s where you are right now. Today, your white coat is your new set of feathers. It feels fresh, maybe a little stiff. But over the next four years, you’ll test those wings. You’ll try new things. Some will go smoothly; sometimes you’ll fall out of the nest. Each attempt will make you stronger, more confident, and more capable. And before you know it, you’ll be soaring -- using what you’ve learned to help patients, solve problems, and change lives. Class of 2029, welcome to the profession. We are excited you are here in Colorado, and the sky is wide open. Now you get to spread your wings.”
If the after-ceremony social was any indication of this class’s ability to do just that, the Class of 2029 is well on their way to jumping out the nest and becoming the next generation of patient-centered pharmacists.
