Two Fridays ago, the first-year students at the Downers Grove Campus received their first white coats at a ceremony shared with families, friends, and faculty. This event is one of the most meaningful we host, primarily because it is such an important day in the lives of our students.


Photo: Pharmacy students celebrate with their new bright white coats.

For our society, the white coat is a symbol of professionalism for health care workers. The coat itself immediately confers respect upon those honored to wear it, but it is a respect that must be earned. At the White Coat Ceremony, the deans of MWU's three colleges (Dr. Karen Nichols of CCOM; Dr. Nancy Fjortoft of CCP; and Dr. Jackie Smith of CHS) spoke about the three concentric circles of professionalism: 1) toward patients; 2) toward colleagues; and 3) toward the community. The deans each gave examples of how this professionalism is modeled and why it is important to becoming a health care provider. MWU President Dr. Kathleen Goeppinger spoke of how professionalism at MWU starts at day 1--it is not something that students can "cram" for during their final year of rotations. Rather, our students are expected to act professionally from the moment they step foot on our campus. Fortunately, our faculty and clinical educators are wonderful teachers and mentors and represent professionalism in the classroom and clinics from the first day.


Photo: CCOM students recite the Oath of Commitment.

This ceremony marks an important milestone for our students, as a transition between their undergraduate and pre-professional education and their graduate and professional training. As soon as the students wrestle their arms into their white coats, they take on a new persona of a health care professional. The sea of white coats at the front of the auditorium reminds all of us of the important work we are doing in training the next generation of health professionals. It is something we take seriously, and, more importantly, a role we demand that our students take seriously. From the students to the faculty, we all feel an extra measure of pride at the end of the White Coat Ceremony.


Photo: Me giving the invocation.

Again this year I was privileged to provide the invocation for the ceremony. It was an honor to be a part of this momentous occasion. My congratulations to all of our first-year students and best of luck on your path toward graduation!