White coat ceremony

The white coat ceremony (WCC) is a relatively new ritual in some medical (both MD and DO), optometry, audiology, dental, chiropractic, occupational therapy, physical therapy, podiatric, pharmacy, physician assistant, clinical psychology, nursing, and veterinary medical schools that marks the student's transition from the study of preclinical to clinical health sciences. At some schools, where students begin meeting patients early in their education, the white coat ceremony is held before the first year begins.

WCCs typically involve a formal "robing" or "cloaking" of students in white coats, the garb physicians and surgeons have traditionally worn for over 100 years, and which other health professions have adopted.

Description

Over 100 medical schools in the USA now have a WCC, and many students now consider it a rite of passage in the journey toward a healthcare career. Some schools also use this as a graduation from the entire program. For example, Moreno Valley College has a White Coat Ceremony for the Physician Assistant students at the end of their final term, where the short coats are discarded and long coats are given as a symbol of being equal clinicians to others who have earned the long coats.

White coat

A white coat or laboratory coat (often abbreviated to lab coat) is a knee-length overcoat/smock worn by professionals in the medical field or by those involved in laboratory work. The coat protects their street clothes and also serves as a simple uniform. The garment is made from white or light-colored cotton, linen, or cotton polyester blend, allowing it to be washed at high temperature and make it easy to see if it is clean and would not contaminate others and work.

Similar coats are a symbol of learning in Argentina, where they are worn by students. In Tunisia and Mozambique, teachers wear white coats to protect their street clothes from chalk.

Like the word "suit", the phrase "white coat" is sometimes used as a synecdoche to denote the wearer, such as a scientist working in a high-tech company.

A lab coat one of the personal protective equipment and is worn to give you maximum protection in the following ways: 

White coat (disambiguation)

White coat may refer to: