Family Health University holds matriculation, white coat ceremony
Family Health University (FHU) has officially welcomed its 2025/2026 Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) class with a joint matriculation and white coat ceremony for its students.
Held on the school’s premises, the event marked the beginning of the medical journey for the new cohort, as they donned their white coats and pledged their commitment to the ideals of the medical profession.
The ceremony was attended by dignitaries, including the Founder of FHU and Chief Medical Director of Family Health Hospital, Dr Susu Bridget Kwawukume; Dean of the School of Nursing and Midwifery, Dr Patience Aniteye; Medical Coordinator at Family Health Hospital, Dr Rebecca Acaquaah-Arhin, among other heads of departments, faculty members, administrative staff, parents and guardians.
The Graduate Entry Medical Programme (GEMP) at Family Health University provides a pathway for degree holders in science-related fields to pursue the Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) degree.
Theme
Delivering the keynote address, on the theme “A Charter to Chart New Frontiers in Medicine: A Journey of Purpose and Excellence”, Professor Alfred Edwin Yawson, the Provost of the College of Health Sciences, University of Ghana, commended FHU’s leadership for achieving Charter status, placing it among Ghana’s fully recognised higher educational institutions.
He stressed that the milestone came with greater responsibility to raise standards in medical education, expand research capacity, and strengthen partnerships locally and internationally.
Prof. Yawson also challenged FHU to embrace modern, student-centred teaching methods and harness science, technology and innovation to address pressing health needs.
He charged the new students to begin their journey with clarity of purpose not only to succeed academically, but to serve humanity as skilled professionals, ethical leaders and compassionate healers.
Ideals
The Dean of the Medical School, Dr Sylvester Yaw Oppong, led the new students in reciting the matriculation oath.
He explained that Family Health University believed medicine was both a science and an art.
He added that patients might forget the treatments they prescribe but they (patients) would never forget the compassion, respect and dignity with which they were treated.
At the White Coat Ceremony, he further reminded students to wear the coat with pride and humility, mindful of the weight of responsibility and the joy of faithful service to humanity.
Addressing the students, the Founder and Vice-Chancellor of FHU, Professor Enyonam Yao Kwawukume, urged the students to adopt a lifelong commitment to continuous learning, reminding them that medicine was an ever-evolving field.
“Medicine is a discipline where curiosity and knowledge fuel excellence.
“Act with integrity so that you will earn the trust of your patients and colleagues, while supporting one another in discovery, in service and in compassion,” he said.
For his part, the Chairman of the FHU Council, Brigadier General Daniel Kwadwo Frimpong (Rtd.), advised the students to be disciplined, punctual and committed to teamwork throughout their training.
A member of the new GEMP class, Rosemary Ewurabena Essien, encouraged her mates to balance their academic commitments with self-care, set clear boundaries to protect their study time and build strong support networks.
