A letter to the graduating Class of 2017

Dear Colleagues-Friends:

Today is a glorious day. Today, you wear the storied academic hood, with the proud VCU colors and the herbal green of medicine. Tomorrow, you become a physician.

You have worked so hard to get to this day. You have listened and learned, not only in Richmond, but also at the side of many of the best physicians across the Commonwealth, many of whom are your fellow VCU School of Medicine alumni. Your family and your medical school are very proud of you. Please take a few moments to be proud of yourself, and then look forward. You know as well as we do that the work – and the fulfillment – has only just begun.

You have chosen a profession that has great privilege but also great responsibility. You are privileged to become an important part of the lives of your patients and their families. In fact, the best doctors are like family members to their patients: each learns from and supports the other. This is true whether you are a family medicine physician who cares for patients over their lifetime or a pediatric heart surgeon who helps them through the worst possible days with great skill and compassion.

Essential to that responsibility is being a lifelong learner, eager to consume new knowledge about the body and mind, which is available today at an unprecedented pace. We sincerely hope that you will be a lifelong contributor to that knowledge as well, using your many gifts to not just repeat what others have done, but to find better ways to treat and prevent disease.

You also will be viewed as a leader in any circle you find yourself; in fact, the drive and personality that brought you to this day means you already are. Please always be mindful of this role as you work and live in your community. Show up for life and work to make a difference every day. As our Hippocratic Oath says, lead your life and practice your art with uprightness and honor.

Let part of making a difference include staying connected to your medical college to help ensure that we, like you, continue to learn, teach and lead. We are confident that, like so many alumni before you, VCU School of Medicine has given you stellar training that will stand the test of time. We anticipate, with pride, your future accomplishments, and we ask that you remain engaged with your alma mater.

Today and tomorrow, our entire community and the Commonwealth of Virginia celebrates your successes and our expectations of your great future as a physician leader.

Our best to you always,

Susan D DiGiovanni, M.D. Senior Associate Dean for Medical Education  and Student Affairs

Peter F. Buckley, M.D. Dean Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs, VCUHS