Whitecoat Ceremony 2009

Sixty First-Year Medical Students “Coated”; Promised Compassionate Care

Saturday, October 3 -- Sixty first-year medical students of the University of Minnesota Medical School–Duluth received their first white lab coats and took the oath of humanism for medical students today in front of faculty, family and other invited guests. The inspirational event took place in the Weber Music Hall at UMD with a reception in the Medical School atrium.

Keynote speaker, Bret Benally Thompson, M.D., class of 2004, Red Lake Indian Health Service Hospital, told the students to spend time sitting down at the bedsides of their patients and listen carefully to them. When doctors sit down with their patients, he explained, studies show that patients believe that five minutes of conversation felt more like 15 minutes of conversation. Dr. Benally Thompson encouraged the students to be good listeners, to honor the trust that patients place in their hands, to appreciate the respect that comes with the wearing of the white coat. Most important, he said, “you are the keeper of their stories,” and he encouraged them to embrace that role and responsibility.

In his faculty address, James Boulger, Ph.D. said, “Ninety-five years ago (1914), Dr. Abraham Flexner stated that ‘Medical education is not just a program for building knowledge and skills in its recipients... it is also an experience which creates attitudes and expectations’. We [the faculty and staff] hope to continue the good work of our students’ personal mentors and family in fostering those attitudes and competencies that will serve all of their future patients.”

Ruth Westra, D.O., Chair of the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health – Duluth, reviewed the history of the white coat. Receiving a personal white lab coat is a rite of passage for students entering medical school. Conducted at medical schools and other health profession colleges across the country, the White Coat Ceremony was created in 1993 at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons by Dr. Arnold Gold in order to stress the importance of humanism in the doctor-patient relationship. Gold said: “A physician’s responsibility is not only to take care of patients, but also to care for patients. The white coat serves as a reminder of their professional responsibilities and the best time to clarify these values is at the beginning of medical school.”

After the students were “coated” and recited the oath of humanism, first year class president, Jacob Lyons, read his “Letter to Mom” as the class response.

Patricia Porter, Vice President of Development of the Minnesota Medical Foundation, told students that hundreds of invisible well-wishers support them with gifts of scholarships and program support through the University’s medical foundation.

Reflecting part of the mission of this campus of the medical school, the Center of American Indian and Minority Health Drum (group), composed of Native American students and medical school graduates, played and sang honor and traveling songs.

Almost 400 people, including families of the students, local area physicians and alumni, and other dignitaries attended the event. More than 115 individuals or couples, including parents, alumni, faculty and friends, sponsored the white coats and ceremony. The program was hosted by Gary L. Davis, Ph.D., senior associate dean, University of Minnesota Medical School–Duluth Campus and organized by Lillian Repesh, associate dean for admissions and student affairs, and her staff.

The program included:

• Processional with piano music by Dr. Patrick CJ Ward
• Poet: Mary C. Bassing – Fourth Year Student
• Introduction: Gary Davis, Senior Associate Dean
• Welcome and Congratulations: Patricia K Porter, Vice President Development, Minnesota Medical Foundation;
• Faculty Address: James Boulger, Ph.D., head of the Department of Behavioral Sciences
• White Coat – Historical Perspective: Ruth E.Westra, D.O., Chairperson, Department of Family Medicine and Community Health
• Keynote Speaker: Bret Benally-Thompson, M.D. Red Lake Indian Health Service Hospital, Bemidji, MN, Class of 2004
• Coating Ceremony – each student comes on stage to receive their White Coat: Coat presenters were Dr. Gary Davis, Lillian Repesh, Ph.D. Associate Dean for Admissions and Student Affairs, Raymond G. Christensen, M.D., Assistant Dean for Rural Health
• Oath for Medical Students: Glenn H. Nordehn, D.O., Department of Family Medicine and Community Health Duluth
• Class Response: Jacob A. Lyons, First Year Medical Student Class President
• Honor Song, Center of American Indian and Minority Health Drum: Chuck Branch (third-year student), John Vukelich (fourth-year student), Jean Howell MD, Tom Salter, MD., Erik Brodt, M.D., Jason Deen, M.D., and Bret Benally-Thompson, M.D. the keynote speaker
• Greeters were the Teachers of the Year in 2009: Arlen R. Severson, Ph.D. Department of Anatomy, Microbiology and Pathology; Jeffrey L. Adams, M.D., Department of Family Medicine and Community Health-Duluth; and Lee A. Muskovitz, M.D., St. Mary’s Children’s Hospital, SMDC Health System
• A special thank you to Fairview Health Services for generously providing the students’ stethoscopes. Gordy Alexander, M.D. a regional president of Fairview presented the stethoscopes; and to the staff of the Minnesota Medical Foundation in Duluth for working with white coat sponsors.

Other support for the event: Daniel Schlies, photographer; Susan Christensen, executive secretary, admissions; Dina Flaherty, financial aid liaison; Phyllis Lindberg, assistant education specialist Kathleen Piper, executive secretary, student affairs; and 14 second year students as ushers.