Carle Illinois College of Medicine has officially welcomed its seventh class of physician-innovators into the medical community, as they set out to change the future of medicine.
The White Coat ceremony marks the start of formal medical training for the 64 members of the Class of 2028. “We are excited to welcome this exceptional group of new medical students to CI MED where they will develop their skills in becoming compassionate, curious, and creative physician-innovators who will be leaders in their hospitals and communities, shaping the future of medicine,” Mark Cohen, Dean of the Carle Illinois College of Medicine said. “Through our unique curriculum and the experiences that our students get during their training, CI MED’s newest class of future physician-innovators will certainly make their own impact on health care, and we are happy to welcome them to our CI MED family and be an important part of their journey in medicine these next four years.”
Members of the Class of 2028 bring impressive academic credentials and varied backgrounds to the CI MED student community. Seventeen percent of the new class holds an advanced degree, including ten students who have already earned master’s degrees and one who holds a PhD.
Like previous CI MED classes, most of the new MD candidates have a background in engineering (60%) or another STEM discipline (e.g., computer science and biological sciences). The world’s first engineering-based college of medicine, CI MED was founded in 2015 as a new concept in medical education that infuses engineering principles in every stage of the curriculum, educating a new generation of physicians who are equipped to develop transformative health care solutions.
The new class spent their first week becoming oriented to the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign campus, the medical profession, and CI MED’s research and innovation culture. CI MED’s unique curriculum immerses incoming students in the clinical setting earlier than most MD programs, starting in the first weeks of medical school.
Editor's note: You can watch a recording of the Class of 2028 White Coat Ceremony here.