The White Coat Ceremony

This rite of passage for beginning medical students is a tradition at the Jacobs School and is intended to help establish a psychological contract for professionalism and empathy in the practice of medicine.

The event emphasizes the importance of both scientific excellence and compassionate care for the patient and includes several elements:

• Students are cloaked in their first white coats and recite the Hippocratic oath of medicine.
• An inspiring keynote address is given by a distinguished speaker.

This event is typically attended by family and proud guests.

As part of Orientation Registration, students will select their White Coat size.

The Arnold P. Gold Foundation White Coat Ceremony was initiated on August 20, 1993 at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York. The Gold Foundation currently supports the ceremony at more than 100 schools of osteopathy and medicine throughout the U.S.

New students at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences will take part in a tradition shared by medical students across the country.

Each year, Student National Medical Association (SNMA) has a white coat embroidery sale for students to have their first and last names embroidered on their white coat. Having one’s name on the white coat is beneficial for many reasons. For one, it helps patients and physicians the student encounters identify the student. It enhances the students’ professional appearance, and it helps students identify one another – even from different years – on clinical rotations.

The cost to have the white coat embroidered is $30.

Your white coat embroidery fee information will be provided closer to the date of our event.