White Coat Ceremony Archive
Choose a year to see coverage of the White Coat Ceremony:
*Link jumps to archive content on this page.
2012 White Coat Ceremony
Photo: Robert Boston
For Doctor of Medicine students in the incoming class of 2012, orientation at the School of Medicine culminated on August 17th with a traditional rite of passage, the White Coat Ceremony. At the ceremony, students of the largest-ever MD class at Washington University — 124 students from 32 states and ten countries — took an oath and received their white coats. The white coat symbolizes professionalism and compassion in patient care.
In the oath, which they had written as a class, students pledged to serve as their patients’ advocates, educating and empowering them as “guardians of their own health.” Keynote speaker Andrew J. White, Associate Professor of Pediatrics, asked of students: “Every time you see your coat, use it as a reminder of everything you promise today. If you do that, you represent your profession very well.”
With this oath, I commit myself to the responsibilities of a physician in training and to the obligations of the medical profession.
I will faithfully serve the well-being of my patients and strive to prevent, treat, and cure disease. I will endeavor to be worthy of their trust through honest and sensitive communication. I will treat my patients with dignity, respect their individuality, safeguard their confidence, and serve as their advocate. I will educate and empower them as guardians of their own health.
As a representative of the medical profession I will hold myself accountable to the public for the trust placed in me. I will strive to improve the quality of health care for all.
In the pursuit of excellence I dedicate myself to a lifetime of learning, teaching, and advancing the art and science of medicine. I will approach my medical education with integrity and humility, respecting the patients and teachers from whom I shall learn. I will foster a collaborative environment respectful of my colleagues in the healthcare community.
I pledge to care for my well being so that I may most effectively care for my patients. I will act within my capabilities and recognize my limitations.
May I hold fast to the enthusiasm and idealism with which I take this pledge. This oath I make freely and upon my honor.
2011 White Coat Ceremony
Rite of passage. David Windus, MD, associate dean for medical education and professor of medicine (right), leads the School of Medicine Class of 2015 in reciting the Student Oath at the White Coat Ceremony Aug. 12 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center. The 121 students who as a class wrote the oath for the ceremony, donned their new white coats, a longtime symbol of the medical profession. Gladys Tse, MD, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology, was the keynote speaker, telling the first-year students that good physicians often have a “disaster personality,” or one that allows them to be confident in times of crisis.
2010 White Coat Ceremony
Beginning the journey. Katherine Smith, a first-year medical student from Baton Rouge, La., receives her white coat from Will Ross, MD, associate dean for diversity, at the White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2014 Aug. 13 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center. Smith and 121 other first-year medical students were presented with a white coat, a longtime symbol of the medical profession, and took an oath that they wrote during orientation. Jeffrey Peipert, MD, the Robert J. Terry Professor of Obstetrics & Gynecology, and the keynote speaker at the ceremony, told students to follow their passion, get involved and to keep a positive attitude.
2009 White Coat Ceremony
Family ties. Christine Yokoyama (left), a first-year medical student, receives a white coat from her father, Wayne Yokoyama, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Medical Scientist Training Program, at the Class of 2013 White Coat Ceremony Aug. 14 at the Eric P. Newman Education Center. Christine Yokoyama was one of three children of School of Medicine faculty entering the Class of 2013, which has 124 students. The others are Carrie Morris, daughter of John C. Morris, M.D., the Harvey A. and Dorismae Hacker Friedman Professor of Neurology and director of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center; and Nicholas Semenkovich, son of Clay Semenkovich, M.D., the Herbert S. Gasser Professor and chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism & Lipid Research, and Janice Semenkovich, M.D., associate professor of radiology. At the ceremony, first-year students are presented with a white coat, a longtime symbol of the medical profession, and take an oath that they write during orientation.
2008 White Coat Ceremony
The future of medicine. Leisha Elmore, a first-year medical student from Newport News, Va., receives her white coat from W. Edwin Dodson, M.D., associate vice chancellor and associate dean for admissions and continuing medical education and professor of pediatrics and of neurology, at the White Coat Ceremony Aug. 15, while Will Ross, M.D. (left), associate dean for diversity and associate professor of medicine, assists. At the ceremony, 124 first-year students were presented with a white coat, a longtime symbol of the medical profession. The Class of 2012 gave a standing ovation to keynote speaker Richard A. Chole, M.D., Ph.D., the Lindburg Professor and chair of the Department of Otolaryngology, after his moving speech titled “What It’s Like To Be a Doctor.” Students also took an oath that they wrote during orientation.
2007 White Coat Ceremony
A new chapter. The School of Medicine Class of 2011 recites an oath of professionalism at the annual White Coat Ceremony Aug. 17 in the Eric P. Newman Education Center. The 123 students wrote the oath in small groups during orientation then compiled it collectively. At the ceremony, the first-year students were presented with a white coat, a long-time symbol of the medical profession.
2006 White Coat Ceremony
On her way. First-year medical student Iheoma Nwaogu dons her white coat from Will R. Ross, M.D., associate dean and director of the Office of Diversity, at the annual White Coat Ceremony Aug. 18, while W. Edwin Dodson, M.D., associate vice chancellor for admissions and associate dean for admissions, looks on. Nwaogu and 122 other first-year medical students were presented with a white coat, long a symbol of the medical profession. Nwaogu graduated with a bachelor’s degree in biology from the University of Houston.
2004 White Coat Ceremony
It wasn’t a fashion show, but more than 120 incoming students donned new attire Aug. 13 during the Washington University in St. Louis School of Medicine’s annual White Coat Ceremony. The ceremony welcomes incoming medical students, and the white coat is symbolic of their transition into the study of medicine and their role as care givers.
Former medical school dean George Dock, M.D., began the White Coat Ceremony in the early 1900s, and he, one of the first full-time professors of medicine in the U.S., would have been impressed with this year’s incoming class.
2002 White Coat Ceremony
Perfectly coated. Will Ross, M.D., associate dean for diversity programs and an assistant professor of medicine, helps incoming medical student Kimberely Chik put on her new lab coat. The School of Medicine welcomed the Class of 2007 at the annual White Coat Ceremony held in the Eric P. Newman Education Center last month. Stephen LeFrak, M.D., professor of medicine and director of the Program of Humanities, was the ceremony’s keynote speaker.