White Coat Ceremony

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation White Coat Ceremony welcomes entering medical students and helps establish a psychological contract for the practice of medicine.

The event emphasizes the importance of compassionate care for the patient as well as scientific proficiency and includes several elements:

• Recitation of student-written oath which represents the public acknowledgment by the students of the responsibilities of the profession and their willingness to assume such obligations in the presence of family, friends, and faculty
• Cloaking of students in their first white coats
• An address by a eminent physician role model 
• Celebration at a reception with students' invited guests

At the ceremony, students are welcomed by their deans, or other respected leaders who represent the value system of the school and the new profession the students are about to enter.

The cloaking with the white coat—the mantle of the medical profession—is a hands-on experience that underscores the bonding process. It is personally placed on each student's shoulders by individuals who believe in the students' ability to carry on the noble tradition of doctoring. It is a personally delivered gift of faith, confidence and compassion.

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