Second-year medical students in the West Virginia University School of Medicine will receive their white coats during a ceremony planned for Saturday (March 11) at the Metropolitan Theatre in Morgantown. (WVU Photo)
WHO: More than 100 second-year medical students from the West Virginia University School of Medicine
WHAT: Members of the WVU School of Medicine Class of 2025 will earn the most significant symbol of their chosen profession — the white coat — during the annual J.W. Traubert White Coat Ceremony.
WHEN: Saturday, March 11, at 11 a.m.
WHERE: Metropolitan Theatre, 371 High Street, Morgantown
NOTES: The keynote speaker for the White Coat Ceremony is WVU School of Medicine 2022 Distinguished Alumna Dr. Patrice Harris, the 174th president of the American Medical Association. She is also a current member of the WVU Board of Governors.
Additional speakers include:
- Dr. Clay Marsh, chancellor and executive dean, WVU Health Sciences
- Dr. Norman Ferrari, chief academic officer and vice dean for education and academic affairs, WVU Department of Medical Education
At WVU, a unique aspect of the medical education program is that students earn their white clinician coats in the spring of their second year of education rather than the onset of medical school. The transition from basic sciences to clinical care is about more than the coat, it’s a symbol of their future as healers and care providers. The ceremony stresses the importance of the doctor-patient relationship and the relevance of the white coat as a cloak of compassion.
The White Coat Ceremony was named for Dr. John W. Traubert, former associate dean for student and curricular affairs at the WVU School of Medicine, who practiced family medicine in Wellsburg before joining the University faculty as founding chair of the Department of Family Practice, now the Department of Family Medicine.
-WVU-
zl/03/09/23
MEDIA CONTACT: Cassie Thomas
Director, Communication and Marketing
WVU School of Medicine
304-376-1829; cassie.thomas@hsc.wvu.edu
Call 1-855-WVU-NEWS for the latest West Virginia University news and information from WVUToday.
Follow @WVUToday on Twitter.