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Medical Students Celebrate Achievement |
The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine's eighth White Coat Ceremony was held November 21, 2010 in Burruss Hall on the campus of Virginia Tech. More than 1,200 faculty, family members and guests viewed the ceremony as 188 VCOM students from the Class of 2014 were cloaked with their first white coats. Students also received the "Humanism in Medicine" pin, donated by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, and a stethoscope engraved with their initials, donated by the Virginia Osteopathic Medical Association (VOMA).
The ceremony included a speech by Dr. Karen Nichols, the first female president of the American Osteopathic Association. Dr. Nichols provided inspiration to the new student doctors about the humanistic care of patients.
Dr. Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, dean and vice president for academic affairs, discussed the purpose of the White Coat Ceremony and tied the theme of this ceremony, which is held on more than 100 medical school campuses nationwide, to VCOM's values: professionalism, duty, critical thinking, compassion, integrity, patient-centered care, and altruism. Tooke-Rawlins also identified the need for caring and compassionate physicians in society and lead the audience physicians and the students in reciting the osteopathic oath.
"We are pleased that so many families and friends could be with us to celebrate the achievements of our first-year students," said Dr. Jim Wolfe, president of VCOM. "We hold our ceremony in November so we can recognize the achievements of our students who successfully completed their first block of studies in the basic sciences and will now add early clinical experiences to their basic science education."
VCOM recently enrolled its eighth class of students and has graduated 600 physicians since its first commencement exercises in 2007.