MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (WBOY) — West Virginia University’s Physician Assistant Studies Program hosted its White Coat Ceremony Sunday at the WVU Health Sciences Okey Patterson Auditorium in Morgantown.

The White Coat Ceremony honored 24 students from the West Virginia University School of Medicine Physician Assistant Studies Class of 2024 and marked their transitions into the clinical phase of their education. Students received their white coats and completed the Physician Assistant Professional Oath, signifying their commitment to upholding the responsibility of the health, safety, welfare and dignity of all patients in their care.

“Today we’re having a ceremony to mark the transition from the classroom setting of education to the clinical setting,” WVU Physician Studies Program Director Jennifer Momen said. “So, it’s a really exciting moment for these students who will be spending a full twelve months in the clinical setting rotating through various specialties and, um, finalizing their training before they graduate in about a year from now.”

Sunday’s ceremony marked the third white coat ceremony since the program’s inception in 2020. Students who received their white coats will be spending the next 12 months of the program in a series of clinical rotations in the core medical specialties: surgery, emergency medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, family medicine, internal medicine, behavioral medicine and rural primary care.