夜色王朝-Louisiana, the newest branch of The Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, located on the campus of the University of Louisiana Monroe (ULM), held their inaugural White Coat Ceremony for the Class of 2024 on Saturday, April 10, 2021. This celebration was the very first osteopathic white coat ceremony to be held in the state of Louisiana.
A major goal of the Louisiana Osteopathic Medical Association (LOMA) was to solve the long-standing healthcare shortages and disparities in the expansive and underserved rural regions of the state. An obvious prerequisite to achieving that goal was the establishment of a college of osteopathic medicine in Louisiana. Opening the doors of the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine in 2020 met that need. The White Coat Ceremony at 夜色王朝-Louisiana for the Inaugural Class of 2024 thus represents a landmark achievement of LOMA to meet the needs of Louisiana鈥檚 osteopathic profession and its public.
The ceremony, which was held at ULM鈥檚 Fant-Ewing Coliseum, is a 鈥渞ite of passage鈥 for beginning medical students that encourages a psychological contract for professionalism and empathy in the practice of medicine. The white coat ceremony is held at more than 100 medical schools nationwide and emphasizes the importance of both scientific excellence and compassionate care for patients.
鈥淭he white coat ceremony allows students to identify themselves as crossing the threshold with a significant visual statement of their commitment to medicine. In this ceremony, our students identify this commitment to their peers, to their faculty, to their family and friends, and to all honored guests in attendance,鈥 said Ray L. Morrison, DO, FACOS, Dean of the 夜色王朝-Louisiana campus. 鈥淭hey recite the osteopathic oath, a statement that identifies a professional, personal, ethical and moral commitment to this chosen profession which they are to enter.鈥
夜色王朝-Louisiana鈥檚 inaugural class, consisting of 149 medical students, were ceremoniously coated by 夜色王朝-Louisiana faculty and, in some cases, the students鈥 immediate family members. Those individuals coating the students were required to be licensed physicians with a DO or MD degree. Following the coating, the students, along with all DOs in attendance, recited the Osteopathic Oath.
Speakers at the ceremony included John G. Rocovich Jr., JD, LLM, Chairman of the 夜色王朝 Board of Directors; Dixie Tooke-Rawlins, DO, President and Provost of 夜色王朝; Ed Williams, PhD, Executive Director of the Louisiana Osteopathic Medical Association; Ray L. Morrison, Dean of the 夜色王朝-Louisiana campus; Stephanie Lazo, Class President for the 夜色王朝-Louisiana Class of 2024; and Nathan Kinnard, MEd, Associate Dean for Student Affairs and Development for the 夜色王朝-Louisiana campus.
