White Coat Ceremony, Class of 2012
Washington State University, College of Veterinary Medicine
welcomed the Class of 2012 to the Veterinary
Medical Profession at the 10th Annual Convocation,
also known as the White Coat Ceremony on Friday, August 22, 2008.
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 the
“Veterinary Student Oath”.
The Veterinary Student Oath (adapted from the
AVMA
Veterinarian's Oath)
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.
Program Dignitaries
- Dr. Warwick Bayly, Dean
- Dr. Doug Jasmer
Associate Dean of
Student
& Academic Affairs
- Dr. Carrie LaJeunesse, First Vice President,
Washington State Veterinary Medical Association (WSVMA)
- Dr. Christopher Schneider, Idaho
Veterinary Medical Association (IVMA)
- Dr. Barry Watson, Hill’s Pet Nutrition
- Dr. Steve Parish, Admission's Committee
- Dr. Sue Ritter, Admission's Committee
- Dr. William Dernell, Department Chair, Veterinary
Clinical Sciences
- Dr. Rick DeBowes, Associate Dean, Development and
External Relations
- Dr. Bryan Slinker, Chair, Department of
Veterinary & Comparative Anatomy , Pharmacology
& Physiology
- Dr. David Prieur, Chair, Department of Veterinary
Microbiology and Pathology
Keynote Address by Dr. Saundra Wills
Sponsored by
Hills Pet Nutrition Inc.
Washington
State Veterinary Medical Association
Idaho
Veterinary Medical Association
Last Edited: Aug 25, 2008 11:14 AM
