KYCOM’s Class of 2027 to receive symbolic ‘white coat of compassion

The University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM) will formally welcome members of the Class of 2027 during a traditional White Coat Ceremony on Saturday, September 16, at 2 p.m. at the Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville.

In the presence of family members, friends and the campus community, students from the Class of 2027 will be “coated” by the students from the Class of 2026.

The keynote speaker for the ceremony will be KYCOM alumna Juanita Fraan Hughes, D.O. She is a family medicine physician at Quantum Health Care in Hazard, Ky., whose primary focus is on the management of chronic diseases. Before joining Quantum Health Care, Hughes worked as a teaching physician in the hospital and outpatient setting for ten years at the University of Kentucky Department of Family and Community Medicine. In 2022, she was promoted to Associate Professor in the department. 

Hughes is from the small town of Gilbert, W.Va. She graduated from Alice Lloyd College in Pippa Passes, Ky., in 2002 with a bachelor of science and then went to KYCOM to earn her Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree and graduated in 2006. 

The community is cordially invited to attend the White Coat Ceremony. The event will also be live-streamed from UPIKE’s Facebook page for those unable to attend. For more information, contact the University of Pikeville Public Affairs office at (606) 218-4461.