DO Class of 2019 Receives White Coats

On Saturday, Oct. 3, 283 first-year osteopathic medical students took their first step toward becoming physicians during PCOM’s White Coat Ceremony. 

A significant rite of passage, the White Coat Ceremony is a tradition at most medical schools. The ceremony is designed to establish a psychological contract for beginning medical students that stresses the importance of compassionate care for the patient and professionalism as well as scientific proficiency.

Students heard from Jay S. Feldstein, DO '81, president and CEO; Ken Veit, DO ’76, MBA, provost, senior vice president for academic affairs and dean; and Harry Morris, DO ’78, MPH, chair of family medicine. Michael J. Zawisza, DO ’86, president of the Pennsylvania Osteopathic Medical Association, congratulated the students after they had received their white coats.

Students representing years two, three and four also shared their perspectives on what the white coat meant to them. "My white coat marks me as someone given the opportunity to care for others, said Kelly Mowatt, class of 2017.

The ceremony concluded with the class of 2019 reciting the vision statement they had crafted during orientation. The students pledged to “dedicate ourselves to the evolution of our medical training and emotional intelligence,” and “to be cognizant that a patient is more than their diagnosis, and acknowledge the person behind their disease.”

The physician’s white coat has been a part of the profession since the 19th century. The concept originated from the operating room’s white coat, and has served as a visual symbol of the profession that stands for the need to balance excellence in science with compassionate caring for the patient.