White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2015 to be held on Aug. 19 at NYU School of Medicine

A White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2015 will be held on Friday, August 19, at 1 pm. at the NYU School of Medicine. The White Coat Ceremony signifies the end of orientation for new medical students and the beginning of their career as a medical student. This ceremony creates a psychological, intellectual, and ethical contract for the profession and promotes empathy in the practice of medicine from the very start of medical training.

During the ceremony, students are brought to the stage and, in the presence of family, friends and colleagues are "cloaked" in their first white coat by one of six specially selected faculty members. Together as a class, they will take an oath similar to the Hippocratic Oath, which stresses the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and a compassionate commitment to medicine.

Robert I. Grossman, MD, Saul J. Farber Dean and CEO of NYU Langone Medical Center will welcome the new students, and at the conclusion of the ceremony, will administer the Student Oath and also the Parents, Family, Friends, and Teacher's Oath. The Keynote Speech, "Different From the Start: A Brief Look at the Origins of Bellevue and NYU" will be delivered by David M. Oshinsky, PhD, Jack S. Blanton Chair in History at the University of Texas and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University.

Faculty Presenting White Coats are: Steven B. Abramson, MD, senior vice president and vice dean for Education, Faculty and Academic Affairs; Lynn Buckvar-Keltz, MD, associate dean for Student Affairs; Fritz François, MD, MSc, associate dean for Diversity and Academic Affairs; Jennifer B. Ogilvie, MD, assistant professor of Surgery; David M. Oshinsky, PhD, Jack S. Blanton Chair in History, the University of Texas and Distinguished Scholar in Residence at New York University; and Rafael Rivera, MD, associate dean for Admissions and Financial Aid.

This event is co-sponsored by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. The Arnold P. Gold Foundation White Coat Ceremony welcomes entering medical students and helps establish a psychological contract for the practice of medicine. The event emphasizes the importance of compassionate care for the patient as well as scientific proficiency. Currently, a White Coat Ceremony or similar rite of passage takes place at more than 90% of schools of medicine and osteopathy in the United States, as well as at all four medical schools in Israel.

What: 14th Annual White Coat Ceremony

Where: NYU School of Medicine
530 First Avenue
New York, NY 10016
Ruth and George Farkas Auditorium

When: Friday, August 19, 2011
1:00 pm Eastern Time