NYIT Salutes New Osteopathic Physicians at Annual Hooding Ceremony

Nearly 300 NYIT College of Osteopathic Medicine (NYITCOM) graduates received their doctoral hoods on May 23 at a ceremony where they were urged to welcome medical advancements made possible through Big Data, mobile technology, and DNA sequencing, among other areas.

Keynote speaker Christine K. Cassel, M.D., planning dean of the Kaiser Permanente School of Medicine, stressed how Class of 2016 NYITCOM graduates are about to jump into “a river of change,” and that they should lead by serving as healers, scientists, team members, and good citizens.

“You’ll need to embrace change and adapt to it as medicine holds unpredictable advances,” said Cassel, a leading expert in geriatric medicine, medical ethics, health policy, and quality of care. She received an honorary Doctor of Science at NYIT’s 55th Commencement on May 22. “Remember always that your goal is not just better medicine but healthier people to make lives better throughout the world,” added Cassel.

Family and friends of the 290 physicians filled the 2,200+ seats of the Tilles Center for the Performing Arts to celebrate with the new doctors, most of whom begin residency training in July. The Class of 2016 achieved a 100 percent match and placement rate. The graduates were draped with long green and black hoods from relatives who are physicians or one of four faculty members chosen to bestow the honor.

NYIT President Edward Guiliano, Ph.D., also spoke of the upcoming advances in medicine that the Class of 2016 will experience, such as “digital human beings” created through sets of data that combine everything from DNA to psychology to environmental factors that, when analyzed by a supercomputer, can deliver precise diagnoses and predications that were impossible years ago.

“The body is a marvel of connectivity,” he said. “We have networks inside us that we hardly realized a decade ago, and we’re just starting to understand them.”

However, in an age of ubiquitous digital connectivity, he urged the D.O. graduates to prioritize a crucial point of contact: “I want to emphasize the oldest and yes, the most important, kind of connection—the one between you and your patient,” said Guiliano. “Whether you go on to become pediatricians or physicians who provide the set of services known as primary care, or whether you venture into public policy or another specialty, know that you can make an incredible impact on the health of others. ”                   

Dean Wolfgang Gilliar, D.O., urged Class of 2016 graduates to harness the tools and skills they learned at NYITCOM to advance their profession and serve society.

“Be open-minded and flexible in order to truly serve the public as civil leaders,” he told graduates.

Gilliar administered the osteopathic oath to the graduates. He also announced winners of several honors, including Edward Harold Nabet (D.O. ’16), who won the dean’s achievement award for overall academic excellence. The Class of 2016 includes eight graduates who received armed forces scholarships and who took the military oath of office, administered by Lt. Daniel J. Rausa, Medical Corps, U.S. Navy.