The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio enrolled more than 200 aspiring doctors Sunday during its 17th White Coat Ceremony a rite of passage marking students' entrance into medical school as they first don their white laboratory coats.

It's a thrilling event for all of you, Vice Dean for Undergraduate Medical Education Dr. Florence Eddins-Folensbee told the science center's class of 2017. This is the time we carry on the profession of medicine.

About 1,000 friends and family members packed into Holly Auditorium and two overflow seating areas to witness the commencement of their loved ones' medical careers. Eddins-Folensbee recognized the dozens of faculty members on stage and then joked that the incoming students would take their first exam at the conclusion of the ceremony to identify all the professors.

The symbolism of the Sunday ceremony was stark, with Dr. Francisco Gonzlez-Scarano, dean of the University of Texas School of Medicine and vice president of medical affairs, referring to incoming students as his colleagues-in-training, and noting that faculty members are still students themselves, even as they teach a younger generation the inner workings of the profession.

The dean also told the class members they're entering the field of medicine during a dynamic period marked by the most significant changes in medicine since Medicare was enacted in the 1960s.

The class of '17 will face a field with a greater focus on outcomes than progress, he said. As a result of those changes, Gonzlez-Scarano said their education would emphasize outcomes as well.

The class will also be one of the first at UTHSCSA to exclusively employ electronic textbooks.

Gonzlez-Scarano and others emphasized how important relating to people is in medicine. The matriculating students were told they already have shown they have native intelligence, and over the four years of training, they can expect to develop emotional intelligence, learning how to care for all patients equally regardless of their age, race, income, sex or other factors.

Dr. Valerie Pronio-Stelluto, president of the UTHSCSA Alumni Board of Directors, emphasized how important it is for doctors to listen to their patients.

Healing starts when you take time to listen, Pronio-Stelluto said. Make sure that you really, really listen.

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UTHSCSA matriculates more than 200 new students