MSU-Meridian 2027 PA class receives white coats in ceremony

Contact: Marianne Todd

MERIDIAN, Miss.—In a time-honored tradition of the medical profession, 27 Mississippi State University-Meridian Master of Physician Assistant Studies students in the university program’s 5th cohort have received their first white coats this month, signaling their readiness to move from the didactic phase of education to clinical rotations.

“The Class of 2027 has been working relentlessly over the last year to learn how to diagnose and treat different disease states, communicate with patients and become empathetic providers,” said Pam Vayda, program director and department head. “The next phase of clinical training allows PA students to be involved in caring for patients across multiple specialties and gain insight from various medical professionals. We are very proud of these students as they move into the next phase of their training.”

Hundreds of friends and family filled the MSU Riley Center’s Exhibit Hall during the recent ceremony, which featured a brief history lesson on the significance of the white coat by Casey Kerian, an assistant clinical professor.

Being the image of medical cleanliness and purity, the white coat gained momentum and became standard garb for surgeons in 1915 following the unveiling of painter Joseph Eakins’ renowned painting, “The Agnew Clinic” from the University of Pennsylvania, which depicts a physician wearing a white coat while performing surgery.

After receiving the coats, the students recited the Pledge of Professionalism in Medicine, a promise to consecrate their lives to humanity.

Sydney King, class president, spoke to classmates about advancing to clinical rotations.

“The information we spent hours learning will turn into real conversations with real people,” she said. “The conditions we’ve studied in our textbooks will become patients entrusting us to take care of them. That’s both exciting and extremely daunting, but if this past year has taught us anything, it’s that we’re capable of more than anything we thought possible.”

The program has graduated 63 students since 2023, all of whom completed 10 five-week clinical rotation blocks in hospital and clinical settings. The third cohort, currently in clinicals, will graduate this May, and many of these students already have job offers, Vayda said.

MSU-Meridian’s PA program prepares students to fill critical gaps in pediatrics, internal medicine, emergency medicine, family medicine, general surgery, behavioral health and women’s health.

For more information on MSU-Meridian’s Master of Physician Assistant Studies, visit https://www.healthprofessions.msstate.edu/pa.

Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.