A Symbol of Service: University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville holds White Coat Ceremony for Class of 2024

May 28, 2021

The University of South Carolina (UofSC) School of Medicine Greenville hosted its annual White Coat Ceremony for the class of 2024 on Saturday, May 22, 2021, with President and CEO of Prisma Health, Mark O’Halla, as a special guest.

The ceremony was held at Fluor Field at the West End, the host field of the Greenville Drive, at 10 a.m. on Saturday morning. O’Halla, as a symbol of the collaborative and synergistic partnership between the School of Medicine Greenville and Prisma Health, personally donned the white coats of two Prisma Health Scholars.

“This ceremony celebrates an important milestone in the lives of first-year medical students, a rite of passage where students receive their white coats and selflessly pledge their commitment to the medical profession,” said Marjorie Jenkins MD, MEdHP, FACP, Dean of the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville and Chief Academic Officer for Prisma Health-Upstate. “This impactful ceremony represents their medical school journey, where students dedicate themselves to the health of future patients they will serve.”

Two main goals of the UofSC School of Medicine Greenville are to equip their future physicians in the best way possible and to improve the overall health of South Carolinians. This commitment to patients everywhere is made possible by the long-standing collaboration and commitment between the UofSC School of Medicine Greenville and Prisma Health in the Upstate.

“Our partnership with UofSC School of Medicine Greenville brings hands-on clinical experience to student learners,” said Mark O’Halla. “With more than 1,100 Prisma Health physicians serving as medical school faculty, the clinical training and mentoring that students receive are critical components of the high-quality medical education provided by the medical school.”

Today, Prisma Health is positioned as a training ground for residents, becoming stronger each year in its resources and commitment to South Carolinians.  The health system commits nearly $3 million per year to support student scholarships. School of Medicine Greenville students, under the training of the Prisma Health physicians, yield a 99% match rate, exceeding the national standards for Residency Match Day held on March 19th.

Since 2016, the UofSC School of Medicine Greenville has graduated 470 physicians and tirelessly worked to increase South Carolina’s pool of local, diverse healthcare professionals. Through its collaborative efforts with Prisma Health, the medical school has made it a priority to address the health disparities in our region and state while also striving to have a diverse, more inclusive population of physicians and caregivers. The overall diversity of the students at the UofSC School of Medicine Greenville in 2020 – including those from rural areas, first-generation college students, English as a second language, those with military service – stood at 63 percent, an increase of 15 percent since 2016.

“This collaboration between Prisma Health and the school benefits not only the future physicians at the medical school, but also directly impacts the surrounding Greenville, SC community, providing doctors better equipped for residencies and treating future patients,” O’Halla added.

 

About UofSC School of Medicine Greenville

Through a synergistic partnership between the state’s largest university and the state’s largest public health system, the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville, opened the doors in 2012 to welcome its charter class. The educational experience offered at the University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville is unique as students are immersed in the healthcare delivery system from their first week and are taught by experienced biomedical educators and clinical faculty from Prisma Health using a state-of-the-art integrated curriculum. University of South Carolina School of Medicine Greenville’s goal is to educate master clinicians imbued with medical knowledge, committed to care of the total patient, competent in technical skills and cognizant of population health principles. More information about the University of South Carolina School of Medicine can be found here.