Welcome to the Profession Ceremony
University of Iowa - College of Pharmacy (8/18/2012)
The Welcome to the Profession
Ceremony is also known as the White Coat Ceremony. We had ours just prior to the beginning of classes. The ceremony included a welcome from the dean
of the college of pharmacy and other leaders from the Iowa Board of
Pharmacy. As part of the ceremony, other
pharmacists, family, and friends were invited to support the students. Following the speeches, each student is
called on the stage and their professional mentor put the white coat on the
student. Next, the whole class stood up and read the oath of the
pharmacist.
The white coat ceremony
helps to emphasize the importance of choosing the pharmacy profession as career. It helps
students to understand the seriousness of that choice and the importance of
professionalism. The white coat to me means that when someone sees me wearing
it, they expect professional behavior. The ceremony formalizes the entrance into to pharmacy school which is important because the knowledge we learn in the coming years will have a real impact on the health of
their patients.
Following the ceremony, I definitely feel more serious and focused
about attending pharmacy school because I know that the knowledge that I learn
will be very important in the future. Having our peer mentor put the white coat
on us is important because it shows that not only do we have support in the
coming years but that we also are truly being welcomed into the pharmacy
profession. Also, in a few short years
we will eventually end up working with these mentors. One point that was emphasized was that we should be involved and
reach out to have a deeper understanding of the profession and I look forward to the coming years to do just that!
