Medical White Coat Ceremony

A white coat ceremony or similar rite of passage now takes place at nearly all u s.

Medical white coat ceremony.

The event emphasizes the importance of both scientific excellence and compassionate care for the patient. The ceremony signifies the beginning of medical students journeys to achieve the long white coat when they are physicians. The white coat ceremony for medicine. Arnold gold was a professor of clinical neurology and professor of clinical pediatrics there.

Medical schools as well as at osteopathic schools of medicine and schools in several other countries. The white coat ceremony wcc is a relatively new ritual when in some medical md do physician assistant dental optometry speech language pathology audiology osteopathy chiropractic dietitians occupational therapy physical therapy podiatric pharmacy pathologists assistant nursing naturopathic and veterinary schools that marks the student s transition from the study of. During the ceremony a white coat is placed on each student s shoulders and often the hippocratic oath is recited signifying their entrance into the medical profession. I am thrilled to be starting medical school at the university of wisconsin school of medicine and public health says entering student leah gruen.

More than 500 streams occurred during the ceremony. At the ceremony students are welcomed by their deans the president of the hospital or other respected leaders who represent the value system of the school and the new profession the students are about to enter. It also symbolizes professionalism caring and trust which they must earn from patients according to an essay providing historical perspective on the doctor s white coat that was published in the ama journal of. Gold foundation specifically for entering medical students.

A downloadable program for the event as well as photos of students picking up their coats can be viewed on the white coat ceremony page. At the ceremony students receive their first white coat in front of family and friends medical school administration and their peers. After the white coat lecture came the robing ceremony all 250 or so new medical students had been presented with a short white coat by the medical school and as each student s name was called by a senior member of the faculty several others including the dean of medicine and doctors from the school who were well respected for their. At the time dr.

The white coat ceremony is a rite of passage that serves to welcome new medical students to the profession and reinforce the value of humanism as foundational to medicine. The first white coat ceremony took place in 1993 at the columbia university college of physicians surgeons. Gold foundation in 1993.