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Medical students get their white coats

National tradition signifies the beginning of careers in medicine for incoming medical students

HERSHEY, PA — At 3 o'clock Friday afternoon, the Class of 2007 gathered on the front lawn of the Penn State Milton S. Hershey Medical Center campus to participate in the annual White Coat Ceremony in the College of Medicine.

The White Coat Ceremony has become an international tradition and a rite of passage for first-year medical students to help establish a psychological contract for professionalism and empathy in the practice of medicine. The event emphasizes the importance of both scientific excellence and compassionate care for the patient.

During the formal ceremony, students will receive their first white medical coats, an identifiable symbol for medical students and future physicians. After the distribution of white coats, students will join together to recite the Hippocratic oath — the universally recognized creed for physicians. This year, 126 new medical students will take part in the ceremony. The Penn State College of Medicine is one of more than 100 medical schools in the United States, Puerto Rico, Grenada and Israel to hold such ceremonies this year.

The Penn State College of Medicine held its first White Coat Ceremony in 1996 with support from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, a foundation established to foster humanism in medicine.

Pictures of the ceremony re available at http://live.psu.edu/still_life/08_18_03_hershey/index.html

Last Updated March 19, 2009

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