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Welcome to Your Next Adventure: The Virtual White Coat Ceremony With the help of family and friends, students donned their white coats in a virtual ceremony.
T
he unprecedented disruption of life as we know it due to COVID19 has resulted in new and creative ways to celebrate milestones while embracing technology, and the chance to grow and learn as a virtual community.
On August 3, 2020, at 11 am, BU School of Medicine held a virtual White Coat Ceremony for the 172nd entering class, the YouTube version of which was initially viewed more than 1,300 times during the first 24 hours of posting. The 35-minute video montage included speeches from a variety of BUSM administrators, a Q&A with students sharing what they were most excited about and what they wanted classmates to know about them, a self-coating segment with family and friends assisting, and the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath, all from a variety of physically distanced, safe environments. A symbolic rite of passage for medical students and their inauguration into the study of medicine, the White Coat Ceremony marks an important first step for students as they pledge their commitment to the profession and to the trust they must earn from their patients. Associate Dean for Admissions Kristen Goodell, MD, warmly greeted the class and their families. “I am so pleased to be here to speak with you today as you officially join the world of medicine. In addition to, hopefully, dazzling you with facts that describe just how fabulous you all are, I’m delighted to offer my congratulations, my welcome, and my very best wishes as you begin this adventure. “There are 152 of you in this class . . . drawn from a pool of more than 9,500 candidates, and you come to us by way of five different entry pathways and from 22 different states. 2
Boston University School of Medicine
“Academically, you are among the most accomplished classes we have ever had, and you are also a very diverse group in many ways. Fifty-nine percent of you are not men. Thirty-one of you were born outside the United States, your places of birth include 16 different countries. One hundred and twenty-three of you—greater than 83 percent of the class—speak at least one language in addition to English; as a group, you speak a total of more than 20 different languages. Twenty-two percent of you are from groups underrepresented in medicine. Some of you have parents and grandparents in medicine, while others of you are the first member of an extended family to attend college. In cultural, social, economic, racial, ethnic, gender identity, educational, and linguistic terms, and in your life experiences, you define the pluralism that we so value on this campus and which is so central to our society,” Dr. Goodell told the class. BUMC Provost and BUSM Dean Karen H. Antman, MD, shared her insight regarding the challenges the new students might face, assuring them, “Medicine is a big tent; we need a variety of talents. You will not do everything right the first time, or the second time, or the third time. You will still be a great doctor.” Associate Dean for Student Affairs Angela Jackson, MD, also addressed the new students, telling them, “You have arrived with your enthusiasm, energy, interests, and ideals. You’re ready to work hard and begin the challenging, rewarding, and—indeed—exhilarating transformation from student to physician. Please remember one thing: you are not alone in this transformative process. Faculty, staff, and colleagues will help to guide, advise, and teach you. They will listen to, support, and reassure you. But the most transformative and lasting teachers, [who will make] the most powerful and enduring mark on your professional lives, will be your patients. You will learn to partner with them in their care and in the process of learning the art and the science of medicine. Welcome to the beginning of your next adventure.”
