White Coat Ceremony
Posted 11-01-2009 at 02:38 PM by 2000 Man
August 23, 2009
My parents got in to town late Friday night and stayed at our apartment. It was great to see them as it was about a year since we last got together. They were pretty tired from their drive so we visited for a short while and then hit the hay.
Saturday morning it was up early to get ready for the white coat ceremony. The ceremony is a ritual that celebrates the student's entry into their chosen profession. The white coat is a symbol of the profession and the responsibility we have and the trust placed upon us by our future patients. During the ceremony there are a number of speeches given and then when your name is called you walk across the stage in your white coat and are welcomed by the university's president and the dean. Just before you leave the stage you sign the student honor code. After everyone has done this they have all the students stand and recite the medical oath.
I was very moved by the entire experience for many of the reasons I have cited previously in this blog. But at the risk of repeating myself I have to say that I am completely amazed by the position I find myself in. As I sat in that auditorium I thought back to the first time I went through the ceremony, how I thought it was kind of neat but was even more concerned about getting home and having a few beers. What a waste. But now it is just so different. I was taking in every word that the speakers spoke. I allowed myself to ponder what this all meant and how it really was a step along the way to becoming a physician. As they spoke of responsibility and previlege I understood what that meant and felt it deep in my heart. And I truly felt connected to my class and the common path we were on. Earlier I mentioned how I felt that I really did not have much in common with these young people, but I don't feel that way so much now. I have made a couple of friends and engaged in conversation with a number of others and I feel comfortable and accepted by them.
Anyways, so I looked around me and I was in this sea of white and I was moved. I was filled with a sense of pride, and belonging. A sense that this time, it was right and it was going to turn out much different. Later my mother remarked that my coat was really really white and I smiled. It was an interesting observation that made me think about how Jesus had already spiritually made me whiter than snow by His cleansing blood. And now He has washed me anew with a new life on this earth, a chance to do it right this time, to do it His way, and sober.
You better believe that coat is white, it has been washed by the Master Cleaner. And by His power it will stay that way!
My parents got in to town late Friday night and stayed at our apartment. It was great to see them as it was about a year since we last got together. They were pretty tired from their drive so we visited for a short while and then hit the hay.
Saturday morning it was up early to get ready for the white coat ceremony. The ceremony is a ritual that celebrates the student's entry into their chosen profession. The white coat is a symbol of the profession and the responsibility we have and the trust placed upon us by our future patients. During the ceremony there are a number of speeches given and then when your name is called you walk across the stage in your white coat and are welcomed by the university's president and the dean. Just before you leave the stage you sign the student honor code. After everyone has done this they have all the students stand and recite the medical oath.
I was very moved by the entire experience for many of the reasons I have cited previously in this blog. But at the risk of repeating myself I have to say that I am completely amazed by the position I find myself in. As I sat in that auditorium I thought back to the first time I went through the ceremony, how I thought it was kind of neat but was even more concerned about getting home and having a few beers. What a waste. But now it is just so different. I was taking in every word that the speakers spoke. I allowed myself to ponder what this all meant and how it really was a step along the way to becoming a physician. As they spoke of responsibility and previlege I understood what that meant and felt it deep in my heart. And I truly felt connected to my class and the common path we were on. Earlier I mentioned how I felt that I really did not have much in common with these young people, but I don't feel that way so much now. I have made a couple of friends and engaged in conversation with a number of others and I feel comfortable and accepted by them.
Anyways, so I looked around me and I was in this sea of white and I was moved. I was filled with a sense of pride, and belonging. A sense that this time, it was right and it was going to turn out much different. Later my mother remarked that my coat was really really white and I smiled. It was an interesting observation that made me think about how Jesus had already spiritually made me whiter than snow by His cleansing blood. And now He has washed me anew with a new life on this earth, a chance to do it right this time, to do it His way, and sober.
You better believe that coat is white, it has been washed by the Master Cleaner. And by His power it will stay that way!
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