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Longing for the Short Coat:When white is fashionable ALL year longby Ron Gilmore
Sometime toward the end of the 19th century however, the mood of medical practitioners lightened, and so, it seems, did the color of their apparel. Thus was born the symbol of modern healthcare delivery - the ubiquitous white coat. D.W. Blumhagen provided the following account of the evolution of this phenomenon in a July 1979 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine: "The social perception of the physician has changed during the past century. This is reflected in the changing use of a symbol of the profession, the white coat. This dress originated in operating rooms, scientific laboratories, and modern hospitals, each of which contributed to the social understanding of what it means to be a healer. Adding the cultural significance of the ‘whiteness' reveals a broad spectrum of meaning surrounding the healing encounter whose most important aspects are the authority and supernatural powers of scientific physicians and the protection of patients. A major force aiding in the adoption of this symbol was the shift in sick care from home to hospital, where it served to legitimate otherwise socially taboo behavior...." The BCM Medical School Class of 2008 became the first class to receive their white coats and patches with insignias at no cost, thanks to donations by alumni and BCM faculty, staff, residents and students. Martin B. Van Der Weyden, editor of the Medical Journal of Australia, asserts the undeniable image of the white coat as a medicine icon. In a 2001 editorial, he wrote the following: "Ask doctors to nominate the symbols of their profession and many will select the Hippocratic Oath or the serpented staff of Aesculapius. Ask the same question of a person in the street and the stethoscope or the doctor's black bag are common responses. However, the most recognizable symbol of the profession is the white coat." Given the significance of the white coat in the health professions, it should have been of little surprise when, in 1993, a national tradition was launched at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, when the first White Coat Ceremony took place - a growing tradition that Van Der Weyden acknowledged in 2001 as "...to date a uniquely North American phenomenon." The Arnold P. Gold Foundation founded the White Coat Ceremony at commencement exercises at Columbia after Dr. Gold became aware that the recitation of the Hippocratic Oath, in his view, "...came four years too late. It is during medical school that students experience their initial contacts with patients and establish their professional orientation," he wrote. "The Foundation believes that medical students should be given well defined guidelines regarding the expectations and responsibilities appropriate for the medical profession prior to their first day of education and training." Today, the White Coat Ceremony takes place annually at medical schools around the world. Baylor College of Medicine initiated its White Coat Ceremony in 1996 and, as at other academic health centers, it has become a "tradition" in less than one decade. During the ceremony, first-year students don their short white coat, with assistance from second-year students. They also recite a pledge to affirm their commitment to the highest standards of ethics and patient care. This year another tradition was born as a result of a sponsorship program begun by the BCM Office of Alumni Affairs & Student Connections. The BCM Medical School Class of 2008 became the first class to receive their white coats and patches with insignias at no cost, thanks to donations by alumni and BCM faculty, staff, residents and students. "Give A White Coat Day" raised more than $10,000 in its first year. As a result, all first-year medical students were supplied the coats and patches, while first-year Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences students were given laser pointers. The goal is to continue the "tradition" to ensure that future first-year students can also benefit through the BCM family's generosity. In addition, two local seamstresses donated their time to sew on patches for the students. Members of the first-year class expressed surprise and appreciation for the new program. "This gift made the white coat ceremony a more special ‘passing the torch' event, knowing we were also being welcomed by the alumni..." wrote Michelle Phillips. "...I am already motivated to do my best." "I am really grateful to the alumni association for the white coats," said Laura Rubinos of Laredo and a graduate of the Baylor-UT Pan Am Program. "I am the first one in my family to go to college. More than anything, my parents are really grateful to Baylor...This has made the experience that much more rewarding and motivating." Travis Taylor, of San Antonio, wrote that the "White Coat Ceremony was a very warm welcome to the Baylor family. It was nice to be embraced by the alumni, especially since we were the first class to receive the coats and patches." Perhaps bemoaning the plight of time-pressed medical students the world over, Taylor added, "It was one less thing to worry about, not having to get the patches sewn on or getting the coat." While the students may be pleased to have had their medical garb supplied, they now must face another tradition...years one through four of a medical education. That, of course, is a coat of another color. |
Patient CareBaylor Clinic from the Inside Out Oil and Medicine: Profile on Dan Duncan ResearchEpilepsy: Seeking the Cause of a Lonely Disease Epilepsy: A history of stigma and superstition In for a Checkup? Check Out the Research Too EducationAll About the Education Evolution Revolution Community ServiceIntroducing the Problem Solvers College NewsRededication of a Monument to Medicine New BCM Logo Takes Center Stage The Perfect Fit: Putting the Pieces Together
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| Last modified: October 10, 2008 |
There was a time when physicians wore basic
black. That's because in the era before modern
medicine when the physicians were most
probably church clerics, a sense of mourning and
approaching death were more realistic than
optimism about being healed.