Fifty-nine osteopathic medical students will symbolically don white coats – the uniform of the clinical practitioner – at a White Coat Ceremony planned for Friday, October 18, 2019 at 10 a.m. Jessica Brumfield Mitcham, DO ‘15, a PCOM Georgia graduate who completed a family medicine residency at the Georgia South Family Medicine Residency Program and now practices in Moultrie, will address the first year students.

The event will take place at PCOM South Georgia with family and friends of the students invited. The campus is located at 2050 Tallokas Road in Moultrie.

The class of 2023 began their education on August 12, 2019, six days after a ribbon-cutting ceremony where Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp delivered the keynote address. Certified in Basic Life Support, they immediately began their studies with the assistance of 38 faculty and staff members.

More than 3,000 applications were received for the first class and 30 men and 29 women with an average age of 25, were selected. Among others, they call Georgia counties such as Colquitt, Lowndes, Tift, Lee, Bibb, Jeff Davis and Muscogee, home.

The students earned undergraduate degrees at a number of Georgia colleges including Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Augusta University in Augusta, Berry College in Rome, Fort Valley State University in Fort Valley, Georgia Tech in Atlanta, Georgia Southern University in Statesboro, Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Mercer University in Macon, the University of Georgia in Athens, Valdosta State University in Valdosta, in addition to other out-of-state institutions. Twelve of the class members also hold master’s degrees.

Class officers, a DO Council and an Ethics Committee have been elected and the student leadership team holds regular meetings to plan activities. In addition, student ambassadors have been trained and assist at admissions events including open houses, information sessions and campus tours. Student clubs and organizations will be established this spring.