White Coat Ceremony*
for the Larner College of Medicine Class of 2024
Friday, October 2, 2020
1:00 PM
* Subject to change as COVID-19 guidelines evolve.
Please note, family and friends will not be able to attend the ceremony in person this year due to social distancing guidelines and event size restrictions. The link to view a livestream of the ceremony will be posted on this page as the ceremony date approaches.
What is a White Coat Ceremony?
Initiated on August 20, at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, this annual ceremony or a similar rite now takes place for first-year medical students at about 90 percent of schools of medicine and osteopathy in the United States,
and is supported by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation
According to the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, the White Coat Ceremony helps establish a psychological contract for the practice of medicine.
Physicians dressed in black until
the late 19th century, due to the association of black attire as formal. Physicians adopted the white coat as a symbol of purity at the beginning of the 20th century.