White Coat Ceremony?

[ebola95]

ok, i may be dumb and a bit behind, but what exactly is the white coat ceremony? obviously you get your lab coat, but does the school buy them and make somethong out of it or what? and when does this usually happen

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[sph]

I believe the school provides them for you. My med school just sent me a form to fill out for my measurements for the white coat. The ceremony generally occurs during orienation or a week or so b/f school starts.

 

[Future DOc]

White Coat Ceremony is like an inauguration into medical school where you are cloaked by the administration & other distinguished guest with you white coat. It is symbolizes the start of your medical profession. It usually starts during orientation week. It is really cool...

WesternU provides the white coats for all their students & the ceremony involves all medical disciplines other than medicine (e.g PA, PharD, MPT, etc...)depending on the school

Rob
WesternU/COMP MS III

[This message has been edited by Future DOc (edited 06-10-2000).]

 

[turtleboard]

Well, the original White Coat ceremony was started at Columbia P&S by Arnold Gold, MD, a neurologist on faculty there.

Today the Arnold Gold Foundation sponsors all White Coat ceremonies within both the allopathic and osteopathic realms of medicine, I believe. Along with the White Coat, students receive an Arnold Gold Foundation pin that reads, "Humanism in Medicine," and a book from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation entitled, "On Doctoring."

The point of the ceremony was to get first-year students to start thinking like doctors so that they may be more compassionate by third-year (or something like that).

Tim of New York City.

 

[doatc]

The White Coat Ceremony at CCOM is at the end of your second year and symbolizes the transition from your basic science years to your clinical years. The coats are provided by the school and are adorned with a school patch and your name is embroidered on the breast panel. We had a nice ceremony at CCOM although it was a HOT day.

 

[DrStacey69]

Basically, the white coat ceremony is one in which the administrators of the school gently place your white lab coat on your shoulders in the hopes that it will make you feel like a doctor. Keep in mind that this is done right before they completely undermine your confidence and desire to be a doctor with the first set of exams.

 

[kundun]

I think its pretty cheesy...I mean, your still a student and very far away from being a doc

 

[UHS2002]

Yep, it is cheesy but, IMHO, the students' families really love it. They actually see you wearing that white coat, with all the ceremony, and can almost imagine you becoming a doctor someday

I think it is a small reward for the support our families offered us through the pre-med and application process. For us, we know we are a step closer because we now are going to have to go to med school every day... For them, it is soon going to be just like if the earth had swallowed us, for all they will see of us. So, that is a small way to make them part of the process in a positive manner. Graduation will be another one!

 

[Djanaba]

I saw my first patient within a month of the ceremony, so for me (and my classmates) it really *did* mean something! (Now, only if they had had the coats available to TRY ON before filling out the @#%$*& form. If you get a chance, try on some of the brand they're using, even if you have to go to a scrub shop to do it.)

We got the "On Doctoring" book, but no pin. We did, however, have a lovely reception with munchies and wine.

 

[reddog]

A note on the white coats for those of you who are interested. These are the coats you wear to clinics and hospitals, also known as the "bitch coats"! They are shorter in length than your attending or residents' coat so they can spot you in a crowd when they need a rectal or vaginal exam done. Only when you've obtained the lofty "Doctor" status do you get to don the white coat with the extra 3 inches in length! You'll still need to buy/inherit a "dirty" white coat for gross lab.