More than 100 incoming medical students were formally welcomed into the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Great Falls during the official "white coat" ceremony on Thursday, July 25, 2024.
“We have about 125 students starting in the second class, and they're a great group from all over the country and they’re very dedicated,” said Dr. Alan Kadish, president of Touro University.
The white coat ceremony gives students a sense of accomplishment and encouragement to step into medical school, which for many has always been the dream.
“I’ve worked in the emergency room in Bozeman for nine years, and I’m passionate about, you know, helping out the community and staying local and so when I heard about the new college in Great Falls, I was so excited and I think staying in Montana is very important for me,” said Alison Everts, a first-year student physician.
Ezekiel Bradbury, a first-year student physician, explained why Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine was the right choice for him.
“I love medicine, I love emergency medicine. I love getting to help people, getting to help my community and med school felt like the best way to do that,” said Bradbury.
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“I think it’s really important that Touro has such a diverse community, which is very different than, you know, previous med schools for Montana and that diversity coming to Great Falls and Montana in general is fabulous,” Everts said.
Another big goal for the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine in Great Falls is to ideally keep a lot of the students here in Montana to bring more physicians to this state where there is an evident shortage.
“I’m so excited to see how the medical schools here bring more of that training to Montana, and ultimately coming back to Montana is non-negotiable for me. I love this place, it's my home, and I want to serve this community,” Bradbury added.
Touro University is dedicated to supporting students to follow any path in medicine that they are interested in, whether that’s primary care, specialties, research, or any other avenue.
“We try to make opportunities available to students to do whatever they’d like,” Dr. Kadish said. “We have now this is our sixth medical school campus. So, we've got a lot of experience with students who achieve fulfilling careers in a variety of different areas of medicine.”
The college is located near the corner of 26th Street South and 18th Avenue, close to Benefis Health System and Great Falls Central Catholic High School.
You can visit the Touro University website to learn more by clicking here.
Previous coverage of Touro - click here.
