{"id":55581,"date":"2026-08-29T11:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-29T16:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/?p=55581"},"modified":"2026-08-29T11:35:51","modified_gmt":"2026-08-29T16:35:51","slug":"inaugural-physician-assistant-class-celebrates-white-coat-ceremony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/inaugural-physician-assistant-class-celebrates-white-coat-ceremony\/","title":{"rendered":"Inaugural Physician Assistant Class Celebrates White Coat Ceremony\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 A cohort of 59 students made Tarleton State University history on Saturday as the first class in the Physician Assistant Medicine program to participate in a White Coat Ceremony. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Group<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The ceremony recognized an important milestone in the students\u2019 professional education as they received their white coats and reflected on the responsibilities that come with a career devoted to caring for others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday, we celebrate the first White Coat Ceremony for Tarleton State’s Physician Assistant Medicine program,\u201d said Tarleton State President Dr. James Hurley. \u201cThey will receive their white coats, recite the professional oath and begin their journey into one of our nation\u2019s most trusted professions. I am so proud of the impact our Texans will have on the state of Texas and beyond.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The inaugural class is part of Tarleton State\u2019s Master of Medical Science in Physician Assistant Medicine program, which welcomed its first cohort in April. The program prepares students to become highly skilled physician assistants with an emphasis on addressing healthcare disparities in rural and underserved communities. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For members of the first cohort, the ceremony represented both an individual accomplishment and the beginning of a tradition future physician assistant students will share. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cToday represents an important milestone, not only for the students we are here to celebrate, but also for Tarleton State and the future of healthcare education at our institution,\u201d said Dr. Elizabeth Palmarozzi, Vice President for the Division of Health Sciences and Executive Dean of the proposed College of Osteopathic Medicine (applicant status \u2014 seeking accreditation). \u201cThe white coat they receive symbolizes much more than entering the healthcare profession. It represents the responsibility they are accepting to serve with compassion, practice with integrity, pursue excellence, and always remember the person, not just the patient.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Palmarozzi also recognized the families, friends, faculty and mentors who supported the students through the work, determination and sacrifice required to reach the milestone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause this is our inaugural ceremony, we have the unique privilege of doing something very special,\u201d she said. \u201cWe are beginning a Tarleton State tradition.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Physician Assistant Medicine program received accreditation-provisional status from the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant in 2025. Its curriculum incorporates patient safety, health policy and community intervention while preparing graduates to help expand access to quality healthcare. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For President Hurley, the inaugural class represents both the growth of health sciences education at Tarleton State and the university\u2019s commitment to meeting a critical workforce need across Texas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his message to the inaugural cohort at the ceremony, Dr. Hurley said, \u201cYears from now, future graduates will know there was a first class. They will know there were students who believed in this program and Tarleton State. That class is you. You trusted this university to prepare you for a career dedicated to improving the lives of others, and today we celebrate that decision together.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As Texas continues to grow, the demand for healthcare professionals, particularly in rural communities, continues to increase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCommunities, especially rural communities, need compassionate, highly skilled providers who are committed to meeting people where they are,\u201d President Hurley said. \u201cThat is exactly why this program matters.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

STEPHENVILLE, Texas \u2014 A cohort of 59 students made Tarleton State University history on Saturday as the first class in the Physician Assistant Medicine program to participate in a White Coat Ceremony.  The ceremony recognized an …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":725,"featured_media":55582,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"advgb_blocks_editor_width":"","advgb_blocks_columns_visual_guide":"","wds_primary_category":382,"footnotes":""},"categories":[382,421],"tags":[430,439,469,470,456],"class_list":["post-55581","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-homepage","category-featuredstories","tag-academic-affairs","tag-division-of-health-sciences","tag-our-impact","tag-state-impact","tag-stephenville"],"acf":{"image":false},"author_meta":{"display_name":"rjohnson1","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/author\/rjohnson1\/"},"featured_img":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/65\/2026\/08\/White_Coat_Ceremony_26-300x200.jpg","coauthors":[],"tax_additional":{"categories":{"linked":["_Homepage<\/a>","Featured Stories<\/a>"],"unlinked":["_Homepage<\/span>","Featured Stories<\/span>"]},"tags":{"linked":["Academic Affairs<\/a>","Division of Health Sciences<\/a>","Our Impact<\/a>","State Impact<\/a>","Stephenville<\/a>"],"unlinked":["Academic Affairs<\/span>","Division of Health Sciences<\/span>","Our Impact<\/span>","State Impact<\/span>","Stephenville<\/span>"]}},"comment_count":0,"relative_dates":{"created":"Posted 18 hours ago","modified":"Updated 18 hours ago"},"absolute_dates":{"created":"Posted on August 29, 2026","modified":"Updated on August 29, 2026"},"absolute_dates_time":{"created":"Posted on August 29, 2026 11:30 am","modified":"Updated on August 29, 2026 11:35 am"},"featured_img_caption":"","series_order":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55581","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/725"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55581"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55581\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55584,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55581\/revisions\/55584"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/55582"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55581"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55581"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tarleton.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55581"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}