A Rite of Passage: The 2022 Allied Health White Coat Ceremony
“Medical education does not exist to provide students with a way to make a living, but to ensure the health of the community.”- Dr. Rudolf Virchow
Baptist Health Sciences University held its 2022 White Coat Ceremony on Monday, Nov. 21. The Allied Health professions represented at the ceremony included students from Diagnostic Medical Sonography, Medical Laboratory Science, Medical Radiography, Neurodiagnostic Technology, Nuclear Medicine, Radiation Therapy, Respiratory Care, and Surgical Technology.
“The White Coat Ceremony is a ritual to mark the passage of the student into the medical society,” said Debra Smith, Assistant Professor/Clinical Coordinator of the Medical Radiography Program. “This milestone is to encourage the students to strive for high ideals, teamwork and unity within the profession in order to provide optimal patient care with dedication to excellence as well as foster professional competency through life-long learning grounded in integrity, knowledge, and service.”
The ceremony has been an annual tradition at the university for eleven years. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation established the White Coat Ceremony tradition in 1993. The Hippocratic Oath is frequently recited as part of this milestone for medical students, who also receive a white coat placed upon their shoulders during the event. This custom serves to mark the student's entry into the medical field. For BHSU’s ceremony, the Allied Health Student Pledge of Professionalism was recited and Allied Health students received their white coats as a marker of their entry into professional practice.
The ceremony took place in the campus gymnasium where Dean of the Allied Health Division and Professor of Public Health, Dr. Elizabeth Williams welcomed attendees and emphasized the ceremony’s importance for Allied Health students and their families. Following the welcome, Karen Smith, Director of the Office of Faith and Service, commemorated the moment with an opening prayer. After the prayer, the Chair of the Medical Laboratory Science Program and Professor of Medical Laboratory Science, Dr. Darius Wilson, introduced the faculty speaker of the evening, Dr. Peter Bell, Vice-Provost and Dean of Medical Education.
During Dr. Bell’s speech he encouraged students by giving them a prescription for professional success. The first dose that was noted is that health care is about the patients. For the second dose he urged the students by saying, “Health care providers must be life long learners. Couple your studies with experiences that allow you to achieve milestones, not check marks.” The final prescribed dose for professional success Dr. Bell gave the students was to purse excellence throughout their health care careers.
Once Dr. Bell concluded his speech, Katie Cody, Assistant Professor/Clinical Coordinator of Diagnostic Medical Sonography, introduced the student speaker, Ann McKeel Durham.
Durham, a senior in the Nuclear Medicine program, spoke to her fellow classmates about the significance of the event. “It is the first step in our journey as health care professionals, a journey which requires perseverance. While we remain students, we are no longer just students. We must learn about this whole new world while providing for patients as if we already belong. The White Coat Ceremony is the send-off as we head out on this new voyage.”
After Durham’s speech, the coating of the students by their program directors and clinical coordinators took place. Dr. Wilson led the pledge of professionalism, and Karen Smith concluded the event with a closing prayer.