GALVESTON, Texas - As they embark on a medical career, 230 School of Medicine students will don white coats in a ceremony at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston.
At the event Aug. 18 at UTMB, students will help each member of the incoming class of 2012 put on medical white coats in a rite of passage that symbolizes that students are entering into the medical profession.
"This ceremony is one of my favorite traditions in the medical school," said Dr. Garland D. Anderson, executive vice president and provost of UTMB. "It visibly marks the beginning of a medical student's journey to becoming a physician. The white coat is a symbol of both great hope and great responsibility, and I am pleased that we will be welcoming the class of 2012 in such a meaningful way."
Dr. Lauree Thomas, associate dean for student affairs and admissions, said the ceremony "signifies an ending, but a new beginning: the culmination of one's undergraduate education and the introduction to the exciting world of the medical sciences and disciplines. It's symbolic of a transition."
UTMB's Dr. Kimberly Petitt, an assistant professor in internal medicine, will be the featured speaker. Her topic is "Donning the White Coat: Symbol of Perseverance, Pride and Privilege."
During the ceremony, to be held at 4:30 p.m. in William C. Levin Hall, current students and faculty members will be honored for outstanding accomplishments.
The white coat ceremony is a relatively new tradition that started in 1993 at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York City. The idea spread quickly and more than 90 percent of schools of medicine and osteopathy now have some sort of white coat ceremony.