When Nathan Camarillo was a sophomore in high school, his mother had a heart attack. The experience was life-changing – and not just for her.
“Growing up, I really did not even see myself going to college,” said Camarillo, who spent his childhood in East Los Angeles and Pasadena. But watching the physicians restore his mom to health made him think, I want to do that.
“That in combination with a lot of the injustices my family faced – coming from a low-income background and an under-resourced community – [made me realize] I wanted to become a physician, to make an impact on people’s lives and ameliorate health injustices,” Camarillo said.
On Friday, he took a big step toward those goals when he participated in Stanford Medicine’s annual white coat ceremony for incoming medical students, as one of 90 members of the School of Medicine’s class of 2028. His parents, siblings, and aunt attended to cheer him on.
The ceremony was one of two held that day to welcome new students into the school’s MD and physician assistant programs. At each ceremony, students were welcomed by Stanford Medicine leaders. Then, for the first time, they donned their white coats – embroidered with their names – and recited the Stanford Affirmation, vowing to devote their lives to the service of humanity.
Future physician assistants
At the master’s in physician assistant studies ceremony, the 29 new students heard how, as the eighth PA class at Stanford Medicine, they represent both where the profession has come from and where it is going.
“We have a health care system that provides the best care for people with severe, acute illnesses,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the School of Medicine and vice president for medical affairs at Stanford University. “What we do far less well is focus on how to predict and prevent illness.”
Students will have opportunities to learn from their patients and to improve the practice of medicine, he said, adding, “There’s no greater privilege than the privilege of working with people during the most challenging times of their lives.”
In her remarks to the class, Rhonda Larsen, MHS, PA-C, associate program director, encouraged students to undertake their educational journey with courage.
“Learn to love the struggle,” she said. “There is a sheer joy of learning.” Reflecting on her own education, she added, “It was exhilarating to learn to care for others.”
Incoming PA student My Vu is excited to begin her studies. Like many members of the new cohort of PA students – who, collectively, speak 14 languages – she is bilingual.
Vu immigrated with her family from Vietnam to San Jose when she was 18 and spoke no English. She took English classes for two years, began taking science classes, then transferred to San Jose State University to earn her undergraduate degree.
Attending medical appointments with her grandmother to act as a language interpreter led to her career choice. After interacting with a helpful PA who was caring for her grandma, “I realized this is the profession I wanted to go into,” Vu said. “It has so much patient interaction.”
Newly minted MD students and faculty mark the beginning of their journey toward becoming physicians. | Kevin Meynell
Responsibility and opportunity
At the MD white coat ceremony, Minor encouraged new medical students to connect – with faculty, their peers, and their patients – to build a sense of professional belonging.
He also emphasized the abundant opportunities for students to participate directly in the biomedical revolution, none more important than helping integrate artificial intelligence into medicine.
Physicians, Minor said, will need to build approaches to use AI responsibly, “in ways that don’t remove us from our patients but that enable us to relate to and engage our patients more meaningfully.”
At Stanford, with its rich history in pioneering computer science, “You get to have not only a front-row seat but, should you choose, front-row involvement in the way these technologies surrounding AI are deployed and implemented.”
As he concluded, Minor offered three wishes for the new students: “That you will always have the courage of your convictions. That you will see every challenge as an opportunity. And that you’ll never become daunted, or if you do become daunted or discouraged, that you’ll come to us or you’ll come to each other, because supporting each other in sustaining your resilience is important to us, individually and as a community.”
After Minor’s remarks, Vol Van Dalsem, MD, clinical professor of radiology, earned a big laugh when he told the students how long ago he had started medical school at Stanford: “In ’71 … 1871.”
In a more serious vein, the immediate past president of the Stanford Medicine Alumni Association board of governors spoke to his future colleagues about their shared purpose.
“It’s important to remember that we serve the patient first, last, and always,” Van Dalsem said. “There is no greater honor than being entrusted with the privilege of caring for another. This trust is sacred – be worthy of this trust.”
Ready for what’s next
After Van Dalsem spoke, one by one students crossed the stage to slide arms into white coats and receive their first stethoscopes. (As they approached the stage, an event organizer helping wrangle the coats whispered, “Make sure it’s unbuttoned!”)
When it was Camarillo’s turn, his family cheered loudly, with his aunt shouting the loudest: “You look good, yeah!” The moment received an appreciative chuckle from the crowd.
Once everyone was symbolically garbed for their professional future, the class of new medical students stood. Together they solemnly pledged to serve humanity, uphold the integrity of the medical profession, and always put their patients first.
Then they joined their families at the reception, snapping celebratory photos, talking and laughing, giddy with excitement for the moment and what the future holds.
Camarillo, who spent three years after graduating from the University of Southern California as a clinical research coordinator at the National Institutes of Health, said he’s nervous about the workload that awaits him but also beyond excited about the potential to learn and collaborate.
“It’s like being a kid in a candy shop here,” he said. “So many people working on so many awesome things.”