White Coat Ceremony, Class of 2016
Washington State University, College of Veterinary
Medicine welcomed the Class of 2016 to the Veterinary Medical
Profession at the 14th Annual Convocation, also known as the White
Coat Ceremony on Friday, August 17, 2012.
History of the White Coat Ceremony
The White Coat Ceremony, established by Dr. Arnold Gold at Columbia
University Medical School in 1993, was designed to impress upon students,
physicians and the public the important symbolic role of the white coat in
patient-doctor interactions. Gold argued that students were reciting the
Hippocratic Oath four years too late-upon their graduation from medical
school. He felt the oath and the conferring of white coats would be better
done at the start of medical school, when students receive their first
exposure to clinical medicine. The White Coat Ceremony provides a mechanism
by which values that are key to our profession can be openly articulated and
carefully considered in the company of peers, parents, partners and faculty.
The College of Veterinary Medicine has embraced the spirit of this exercise.
You will find that our ceremony has been appropriately modified for
veterinary medical students. It includes an induction into the Veterinary
Medical College, whereupon each student will receive a coat, generously
donated by the Idaho and Washington State Veterinary Medical Associations.
As a group, the students recite a "Veterinary Student Oath".
Program Dignitaries
Dr. Doug Jasmer
Associate Dean for Student and
Academic Affairs |
Dr. Bryan Slinker
Dean
|
Dr. John Cannon
Washington State Veterinary Medical
Association |
Dr. Chris Schneider
Idaho Veterinary Medical
Association |
Dr. Doug Murphy
Utah Veterinary Medical Association
|
Presentation of White Coats
Dr. Patricia Talcott Director of Admissions and Miguel Inzunza
Student Services Specialist/Recruiter
Veterinary Student Oath
Dr. Debra Sellon
Associate Dean, Graduate School, Veterinary Clinical Sciences
Sponsored by
Washington State Veterinary Medical Association
Idaho
Veterinary Medical Association
Utah Veterinary Medical Association
As a veterinary student in the Washington State University College of
Veterinary Medicine, I promise to work conscientiously to develop my scientific
and medical knowledge and skills for the benefit of society through the
protection of animal health, the relief of animal suffering, the conservation of
animal resources, the promotion of public health, and the advancement of medical
knowledge.
Throughout my time here as a student, I will conduct myself with dignity and
professionalism, and in keeping with the principles of veterinary medical
ethics. I accept as a lifelong obligation the continual improvement of my
professional knowledge and competence.
