Bayhealth white coat ceremony welcomes 30 physician residents

Bayhealth hosted a white coat ceremony June 23 at its Sussex Campus to officially welcome 30 new doctors to its graduate medical education programs.

The ceremony celebrates their transition from medical students to physician residents as the new doctors remove the short, white coats worn in medical school and replace them with the longer, white coats worn by physicians.

“Much more than a stepping stone in your medical training, we want Bayhealth to be a new home for you. This community is here to make you successful,” said Terry Murphy, FACHE. Bayhealth president and CEO. “Martin Luther King Jr. once said, ‘Life’s most persistent and urgent question is: What are you doing for others?’ I believe choosing to become a physician is fundamentally a decision to serve others.”

As the first teaching hospital in central and southern Delaware, Bayhealth has established GME programs in family medicine, internal medicine, general surgery and, new this year, emergency medicine.

“Wearing this coat comes with a host of responsibilities, along with an immense opportunity to transform lives,” said Assar Rather, MD, Bayhealth colorectal surgeon and GME chair. “In this next chapter of your career, you will be taking care of someone’s most precious gift: their life.”

Emergency Medicine Residency Program Director Dean E. Johnson, MD, MS, FACEP, welcomed the first class of residents to his program.

“We hope that one day you’ll look back and be proud to say that you were instrumental in creating a legacy training program for emergency physicians, and ultimately strengthening access to high-quality and timely care for local community members who needed it most,” he said.

First established in 2019, the GME programs bolster the health system’s mission of strengthening the health of its community, one life at a time. Now with a total of 73 residents, the continued expansion of Bayhealth’s GME programs means greater access to care for residents across the area.

For more information about supporting graduate medical education at Bayhealth, go to Bayhealth.org/Foundation, email Foundation@Bayhealth.org or call 302-744-7015.