WHITE COAT CEREMONY - A Rite of Passage
Intended for first year students in medical, nursing and physician assistant programs, the White Coat Ceremony is a rite of passage that often takes place during the initial days of orientation. It serves to welcome students to healthcare practice and elevate the value of humanism as the core of healthcare. It provides a powerful emphasis on compassion in combination with scientific excellence.
“The annual White Coat Ceremony is a milestone day in the lives of medical students and their families and one that we as faculty and leadership look forward to each year. We congratulate these students and look forward to their continued success,” stated David Lewis, MD, MBA, Dean of the School of Medicine at LSU Health Shreveport.
2024 White Coat Ceremony
On Saturday, March 2, 2024, one hundred forty-nine (149) LSU Health Shreveport second-year medical students received their short white coat symbolizing their journey to the long white coat they will wear once they are a physician. After the white coat was placed on each student’s shoulders, the Hippocratic Oath was recited, and students were welcomed warmly by academic leadership, faculty, and peers.
An Oath for the CLASS of 2026
As I now enter into the area of my medical education where I will progressively increase my interactions with patients; I acknowledge and accept the privileges and responsibilities given to me as a physician in training; As a member of the health care team, I will be present at my assigned duty, and will not fail to do my share in the care of our patients; I will approach my medical education with integrity and will support my classmates; I will respectfully acknowledge my teachers, be they faculty or other health care professionals; Likewise, I will respectfully acknowledge my patients, at whose bedside I will learn; I commit myself to a lifetime of learning both in the art of science of medicine, to better serve my patients; I will attend to all my patients with competence, without bias toward any, and with compassion toward all; I will safeguard their trust, will respect their secrets which are confided in me, and will serve as their advocate; I will communicate with honesty, kindness and understanding; I will acknowledge my limitations, and will act responsibly within the bounds of my training; I will work to learn to cure disease where possible and to prevent disease where opportunity permits; I will promote and protect the health of the public as well as that of my patients; I will not forget the importance of my own well-being and the well-being of those close to me; These pledges I make freely and upon my honor.