University of Nevada School of Medicine
For immediate release: August 10, 2006
Contact: Emily Wofford ewofford@unr.edu Public Relations Manager
775-784-6001

University of Nevada School of Medicine to hold 10th annual White Coat Ceremony for Class of 2010

RENO, Nev.—Fifty-seven new students will affirm their commitment to the medical profession at the University of Nevada School of Medicine’s 10th annual White Coat Ceremony this Friday, August 11 at 3 p.m. at the Lawlor Events Center Silver and Blue Room.

Incoming medical students in the Class of 2010 will participate in the cloaking ceremony which symbolically welcomes medical students into the healthcare profession and helps establish a psychological contract for the practice of medicine. The ceremony is a part of the School of Medicine’s Family Day celebration and concludes orientation week for the 57 incoming students.

In addition to the White Coat Ceremony, the School of Medicine’s Family Day offers students and their families the opportunity to participate in workshops aimed at informing them as to what to expect during the next four years of medical education. Family Day begins at 8 a.m. with the Dean’s Pancake Breakfast on the lawn between the Howard and Manville Buildings in the medical education complex on the University of Nevada, Reno campus. The breakfast provides students the opportunity to meet and speak with the dean as well as the associate and assistant deans as they serve breakfast to the incoming class and their families.

The White Coat Ceremony was initiated in 1993 at the Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons. Grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation in 1996 and 1997 made future and widespread advocacy of this celebratory and solemn event possible. Currently, a White Coat Ceremony or similar rite of passage takes place at more than 90% of schools of medicine and osteopathy in the United States, as well as at all four medical schools in Israel. The event emphasizes the importance of compassionate care for the patient as well as scientific proficiency.

At the ceremony, students are welcomed by their deans and other respected leaders who represent the value system of the school and the new profession the students are about to enter. The cloaking with the white coat—the mantle of the medical profession—is a hands-on experience that underscores the bonding process. It is personally placed on each student's shoulders by individuals who believe in the students' ability to carry on the noble tradition of doctoring. It is a personally delivered gift of faith, confidence and compassion.

The University of Nevada School of Medicine held its first White Coat Ceremony in 1996 for the graduating Class of 2000.

As the state’s only public medical school, the University of Nevada School of Medicine has been meeting statewide healthcare, educational, and clinical needs since 1969. The School of Medicine encompasses 16 clinical medical education departments, including Family Medicine, Pediatrics, Obstetrics/Gynecology, Internal Medicine, and Surgery, as well as ten nationally-recognized departments within basic science including microbiology and biomedical engineering. As the largest multi-specialty healthcare focus within the state, the School of Medicine employs more than 185 doctors who both teach and practice medicine throughout Nevada. The school’s statewide faculty physician practice groups have a combined 25 different medical specialties with seven physician practice offices located in the Reno-Sparks area and five physician offices located in Las Vegas.

The University of Nevada School of Medicine utilizes a best-practice approach to medicine and is committed to addressing the health needs of Nevada now and in the future. For more information, please visit