On March 14th Medical Day, Medical Students Wear their White Coats

The ceremony, held at Prof. Dr. Hüseyin Yılmaz Congress and Culture Center, started with opening speeches after a moment of silence and the reading of the National Anthem.

Denizli Medical Chamber President Ardıç: "This faculty will open the doors of science to you, and as hardworking, determined, tireless young people, as you have proven many times so far, you will participate in trainings that continuously develop medical science through this door"

Turkish Medical Association Denizli Medical Chamber President Prof. Dr. Fazıl Necdet Ardıç stated the following in his speech "Today we have come together for two purposes. Young doctors who start their education in our faculty will wear their white coats and we will celebrate the March 14th Medical Day. Although March 14 is called a holiday, it is actually a day of respect and commemoration. It commemorates both the start of modern medical education in 1827 and the anniversary of a revolt in occupied Istanbul in 1919. Both science and freedom. The two best goals for our young candidates. There are no other words that symbolize medicine more beautifully. We don't need position, title or money to be good doctors. These two words make us good doctors. This faculty will open the doors of science to you, and you, as hardworking, determined, tireless young people, as you have proved many times so far, will participate in trainings that continuously develop medical science through this door. From now on, it is only in your hands to determine what you hope for the future. As for the freedom part, it is something that is within you, nobody can interfere with you from outside, you have to find that light within you and nurture it. Only then will you be able to make a difference to yourself and your environment and only then will you be a good doctor. Today you will put on the white coats, you will wear the uniform that has been the symbol of your profession for a hundred years. Those who wore this uniform have done many important things for humanity in our country; Dr. Hasan Mastar, Dr. Cemil Topuzlu, Dr. Hikmet Boran, Dr. Hulusi Behçet, Dr. Safiye Ali, Dr. Refik Saydam, Dr. Resit Galip, Dr. Fazıl Küçük, Dr. Sadık Ahmet, Dr. Nusret Fişek, Dr. Türkan Saylan, Dr. Aziz Sancar have all carried this praise. These are just a few of them, and hundreds of great doctors you have heard of and those you have not, have rendered great services to both their people and humanity. This is the pride of the whole past and the heavy responsibilities it gives, and we will wait patiently to see you with us as doctors in 6 years. As the President of Denizli Medical Chamber, if you pay attention, we have never mentioned our problems. I have no hope for the solution of these problems in the short term. But we are people who believe in science and freedom. We have existed for thousands of years, we wait and one day we will grow people like us and produce solutions to problems. 

I commemorate with respect and longing all my colleagues who lost their lives by being exposed to violence, who were martyred on duty during the coronavirus epidemic, and who were trapped in the rubble created by ignorance and immorality in the earthquake disaster. I congratulate all of you on the Medical Holiday, wishing that all physicians who work sacrificially by enduring difficult conditions in Denizli, as in every corner of our country, and the young candidates in the hall will continue their profession in a brighter future."

Chief Physician Birsen "I sincerely congratulate the Medical Holiday of our doctors and all our healthcare professionals who fulfill this sacred, respected and honorable profession with great sacrifice and devotion."

PAU Hospitals Chief Physician Prof. Dr. Onur Birsen stated the following in his speech "As Prof. Necdet said, Medical Day was first celebrated in 1919 by medical students as a reaction and protest against the occupation of Istanbul. Celebrated only in Turkey, March 14th Medical Day has now become a tradition. This ceremony, which is celebrated with great enthusiasm every year in our faculty, was crowned with the White Coat Wearing Ceremony thanks to our esteemed Dean. Dear guests, today is a day when healthcare professionals will express their problems, solutions will be produced, and at the same time, the achievements in health will be told. It is a fact that all our healthcare professionals, especially our doctors, have problems waiting for a solution. Problems in the health sector closely and deeply affect not only doctors and health workers but also the whole society. Violence in health is one of the most important problems. Our struggle to prevent violence against healthcare professionals who undertake an honorable duty in human health and to create a working environment free from violence continues and will continue. Again, our efforts to improve the conditions of our hospital and to meet the need for qualified personnel continue at full speed. Apart from the universal problems of being difficult, there may be many problems that we know and do not know on the basis of our hospital. Please do not hesitate to convey them to us. Both our Rector, Mr. Dean and I are doing our best to overcome all the problems. Apart from the problems, we have experienced and are experiencing successful developments in our hospital. Foremost among these, we have put our Thermal Rehabilitation Center annex building into service in Karahayıt Region. We believe that this will be a very important center in terms of health tourism. In addition to the existing technological devices in the infrastructure of our hospital, we have opened our new devices to the service of our hospital. We have added new technological equipment to our hospital in many departments, including the Angiography unit. We have a lot more to do. 

I sincerely congratulate our doctors and all our healthcare professionals who fulfill this sacred, respected and honorable profession with great sacrifice and devotion. I convey my respect and love to everyone."

Dean Özdel "Our faculty is one of the eight faculties accredited in 2011. This year, with great pride, it has been re-accredited for the third time"

Pamukkale University Faculty of Medicine Dean Prof. Dr. Osman İsmail Özdel stated the following: "In March 1919, the students of Mekteb-i Tıbbiye-i Şahane, who were looking for ways to revolt against the occupiers in occupied Istanbul and to save the school, decided to celebrate March 14, the anniversary of the school's foundation, collectively. Under the leadership of Hikmet Bey, a 3rd year medical student, they staged a big demonstration and raised a very large Turkish flag between the two towers of the school. The occupation forces were very surprised, how could such an event take place in Istanbul? And they immediately intervened but they could not stop it. That flag was hung, the spark was lit. Dear guests, as representatives of this training, we celebrate March 14 every year. Last year, we entered March 14th with a heavy heart. We had lost over forty-five thousand of our citizens, over two hundred of our healthcare professionals had been martyred, and over a hundred physicians and physician candidates had been lost in this earthquake disaster. In the time that passed, we tried to ease our sorrows and heal our wounds. Dear guests, the pandemics and earthquakes you have experienced in recent years have shown us that healthcare workers, and especially physicians, are the lifeblood of this society. For this reason, they deserve to be appreciated and carried on shoulders, not violence under any circumstances. My esteemed professors, you are trying to train these admirable young colleagues with great efforts. Fifteen thousand students graduate from faculties in Turkey every year. Although the disasters we have experienced disrupted the education of these students, we have tried to complete the deficiencies with your valiant efforts. Our students are grateful to you. As you know, there are one hundred and twenty-eight medical faculties in Turkey. Only forty of these one hundred and twenty-eight medical faculties are accredited. And our faculty is one of the eight faculties accredited in 2011. This year, with great pride, it was re-accredited for the third time. This is thanks to the great success of each and every one of you. I would like to express our gratitude and gratitude to each and every one of our staff, especially you, our professors, who have contributed. I would like to open a special parenthesis here and express my gratitude and debt to our Metropolitan Mayor. Very few faculties in Turkey use simulated patients in education. Mr. Mayor, by assigning metropolitan theater actors to our faculty, he provided us with this opportunity. This is an important development that will maximize our education. 

Dear students, despite all the difficulties we face, I express in every speech and ask you to be physicians who can approach problems with a solution-oriented approach with a multi-faceted perspective, who can analyze the changing health needs of the society you live in and transform the results obtained into practice, who can overcome all problems, who are equipped with knowledge, skills and equipment that can turn them into practice, who follow current developments, who research and question, like doctor hikmet boran, who can stand against all kinds of difficulties and bullying when necessary, who truly understand the great Atatürk. You are not misleading me. Distinguished guests, I have another special thank you today. I would like to thank our esteemed industrialists, businessmen and philanthropists who have supported us under all circumstances and helped us become one of the best faculties in Turkey with our infrastructure and technical equipment. With these feelings, I congratulate you on March 14th Medical Day and kiss the eyes of the young medical students who will wear their aprons. Of course, I also express my respect and gratitude to their families who raised them. I would like to thank each of you for your participation and extend my regards."

Rector Kutluhan: "Turkish physicians set an example for the world"

In his speech at the ceremony, PAU Rector Prof. Dr. Ahmet Kutluhan said: "March 14th Medical Day is celebrated only in our country. The first of its two most important features is the day when the medical students of that day stood against the occupation of Istanbul by the British. They were pioneers in the defense of the homeland. The other is that it is celebrated as the day of the transition to modern medicine in Turkish medicine, which makes it privileged. Medicine is an indispensable profession of the society as a person who deals with the person himself, his healthy life, his treatment when he is sick and rehabilitation when necessary. Healthy individuals form healthy societies and healthy societies form leading nations. The fact that the first ministry established by our state for this purpose was the Ministry of Health shows how deep our awareness on this issue is. Medicine, which is so sacred, is actually a difficult profession, and when it is not loved and assimilated, it is a burden to the person, so if a person decides to become a physician, he/she must accept that he/she must give up his/her own life and take care of his/her profession even in the most critical moments of life. At this point, Turkish physicians set an example to the world. 

The fact that the wounded soldier who came from the front in the Gallipoli War, when there were very few facilities, was healed as soon as possible and sent back to the front again shows how practical the Turkish physician is and how faithful he is, while the fact that the physicians we are currently training are sought in many countries of the world shows how valuable the trust in Turkish physicians is.

Rector Kutluhan: "Our Faculty of Medicine is in a leading position in our region with its education and health services"

"Our Faculty of Medicine is in a leading position in our region both with its education and health services. Being aware of this, we are happy to meet the needs of our hospital both with state facilities and philanthropic business people. In the list sent to me by the hospital, it is very proud to see that about 30 donations were made within a year. It may seem very small in terms of budget to take care of a small job in the hospital, but it should be known how many people's prayers will be received with the service it will provide. Therefore, we wholeheartedly accept all the donations made to the hospital, thank you very much. Our hospital and Karahayıt Thermal Rehabilitation Center will make Denizli one of the most important centers of health tourism in a short period of 5-10 years. Because both our Hospital and Rehabilitation Center have all the technological equipment related to the treatment and rehabilitation of people, and our professors and associate professors who can use this technological equipment are excellent in their fields. The fact that our graduates of the Faculty of Medicine are very successful in their professional lives in terms of both medicine and medical ethics honors both medicine and us. As I conclude my remarks, I would like to say that I am proud of all our physician candidates who will enter the health army in white coats today, and I am confident that they will receive a very good education and will be very good physicians. I commemorate our physicians who have passed away until today with mercy and celebrate the holiday of all our physicians."