The School of Medicine held its commencement ceremony Saturday, May 18 at Bartow Arena. Selwyn M. Vickers, M.D., F.A.C.S., senior vice president for medicine and dean of the School of Medicine welcomed the graduates and their families to the 2019 ceremony. He highlighted the impact of the Learning Communities and their leaders on the graduates and encouraged the new physicians to continue to seek to do good in the world.
Allison Montgomery, M.D., addressed the graduates as their class president. She described their four years spent working diligently to achieve their dreams of becoming doctors. “We’ve shared this experience together through both the good and the bad. I’m truly humbled to call you all friends and soon, future colleagues,” she said.
Edward E. Partridge, M.D., chief medical officer at Guideway Care and former director of the O’Neal Comprehensive Cancer Center at UAB, gave the commencement address. He stressed how much responsibility now rests in the graduates’ hands, and he reminded them that they must approach their new role with a firm understanding of trust and humanity: “Patients trust that we have their best interests in mind, so we are entrusted to care for and value our fellow man in their most vulnerable moments…Humanity allows you to provide company, care, and comfort even when you cannot restore life.” He also touched on a topic close to his work—social determinants of health outcomes—and encouraged the new physicians to work to address those determinants in a meaningful way.
Afterwards, Craig J. Hoesley, M.D., senior associate dean for Medical Education, presented the school-wide awards during Sunday’s ceremony. Burkely Smith, M.D., received the Hugh J. Dempsey Award, which is given to the student with the highest overall academic achievement over the four-year course of medical school. John Dasher, M.D.; Chelsea Clark, M.D.; Michelle Wang, M.D.; and Saier Akers, M.D., received the Outstanding Patient Communication Awards for each of their respective regional campuses.
Joseph Granade, M.D., and Kerri Bevis, M.D., from the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology were presented with the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Awards. Sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, these honors are given each year to a graduating student and faculty member in recognition of their value of humanism in the delivery of care to patients and their families.
Chandler Stisher, M.D., received the Medical Alumni Association Leadership and Community Service Award, which was presented by Medical Alumni Association President John Wheat, M.D.
The ceremony concluded with the hooding of the graduates and a group reading of the Hippocratic Oath. A Military Promotion Ceremony was held earlier Saturday morning to honor and celebrate graduates who will enter military training programs.
The graduates were eager to share their excitement about the commencement experience.
“I think it’s great to see how far we’ve come in the four years that we’ve been in medical school," said Alex Edgil, M.D. “It’s been an honor to be here, and I think people will continue to do great things from the UAB School of Medicine.”
“It’s been a lifelong dream of mine to be a medical doctor and for this day to finally be here and realize that dream,” said Ashley Steffens, M.D. “It’s an honor to graduate with all these wonderful people.”
Shenila Lallani summarized the general energy of the ceremony saying, “Commencement for me means the end of one journey but the beginning of another.”
In addition to the school-wide commencement ceremony, each of the four regional campuses (Birmingham, Tuscaloosa, Montgomery, and Huntsville) hosted an awards dinner to celebrate campus-specific honors.