how important is the white coat ceremony?

How important to a med student is the white coat ceremony? Should I give a gift to my boyfriend? Any ideas for gifts?

[Amiens]

I'm guessing you are talking about when they graduate from med school. Matt's school called it "hooding." It was a pretty big deal to him. Matt's dad, who is a dentist, hooded Matt when he graduated. Anyone with a doctorate degree can hood another.

I gave Matt a new stethoscope as his had been stolen while on a rotation.

Crystal

My boyfriend had his white coat ceremony prior to first year of med school. Haven't gotten to graduation yet. But to them it was a big deal and I know he got small things from his immediate family I wasn't with him at the time of the ceremony.

[migirl]

I think in the grand scheme of things the white coat ceremony is a nice little ritual, but not necessarily a large deal. At my husband's med school it was at the end of orientation before first year begins. I didn't get him a gift, I don't know if other people got gifts though. If you're looking for ideas I'd get him something he could use while studying (since, as you'll read here, he'll be doing that a lot during his first two years! ). Maybe an new bookbag, an MP3 player (to listen to while studying), an organizer/Palm Pilot, etc.

[SueC]

Gosh, I don't remember a white coat ceremony. I do recall going to the graduation that was specific to the med school graduates and that was really cool, but there were no white coats involved. That was a big deal, but I didn't give my dh a gift (we were days away from getting amrried and broke). He did get nice gifts from my parents and his parents, though. I did give him a nice card letting him know how proud I was of him.

[DCJenn]

I don't recall even hearing about a white coat ceremony. I know the most important thing to my husband as he started medical school was his commissioning- because that meant rank and money. Graduation was also really fun but again it was because of a promotion and being done with that part of life.

Jenn

[Cumberland]

DH's was right before he started, during orientation week. I thought it was a nice ceremony, and a good time to meet his classmates and their SO's but I didnt really think I needed to get him a gift. We had just moved for school, I was looking for a job, and we had just taken out the first of our 200K plus loans so a nice gift wasnt on my mind.

[samssugarmomma]

Ours was also held as part of the orientation week right before first year. I didn't give a gift, but we did go out to a nice dinner.

My husband had a white coat ceremony. No gifts were involved, the ceremony wasn't that big of a deal... for us anyway. But if you do want to get him something, I would second the idea of a backpack. My husband got a really nice Eastman that was pretty pricey. He got it in undergrad and the thing still looks like new. Its been on many many many air plane trips as a carry-on, kicked around and sat on. Its great. Anyway, about the ceremony , it is fun to see them up there, they were even called "Doctor" at his.

[peggyfromwastate]

Mac just had his white coat ceremony at the end of MS-1. We didn't go, b/c he said it was no big deal... And I guess it really wasn't, except that now we have 2 white coats hanging in our closet right next to his BDUs, etc. etc.

White coat

The Med School my Wife will be attending holds the white coat cerimony in high regard. It is a day for the family and students alike where all are encouraged to participate and become involved in the life of the MS1.
Here is the information I have gathered on the White Coat Ceremony:

"The White Coat Ceremony is a relatively new tradition begun at the College of Physicians and Surgeons at Columbia University in New York in 1993. The purpose of the ceremony, as conceived by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, is to clarify for students, prior to entrance into the medical community, the physician's responsibility to both take care of the patients and also to care for patients. In other words, Doctors should care as well as cure. The Gold Foundation believes it is important that the family members and friends are invited to attend the ceremony. It is tradition that, after an address by an eminent physician, distinguished faculty and administrators from the medical school cloak students with their first white coats. Students recite a form of the Hippocratic Oath appropriate for their status as students, pledging to lead lives of compassion, uprightness and honor. The Ceremony is designated to stress the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and to foster a psychological contract in which the student accepts responsibility to be technically excellent, committed to the profession and compassionate with patients."
I hope this answers your questions. As for me, I am getting her a gift. As will most members of her family!
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