Doctors’ White Coats, the White Coat Ceremony, and Medical Oath-Taking in Historical and Institutional Context

Abstract

This chapter explores doctors’ white coats and the White Coat Ceremony (W.C.C.) in the context of North American medical history and teaching professionalism in the undergraduate medical curriculum at Memorial University of Newfoundland (M.U.N.), Canada. The first W.C.C. was held at Columbia University’s medical school in New York City in 1993 and was quickly adopted by almost every medical school in the United States and Canada, and in almost 20 other countries worldwide. At M.U.N., the W.C.C. has evolved from being a low-key event to a gala social affair reminiscent of convocation exercises. What distinguishes the W.C.C. at M.U.N. educationally is the author’s role as a historian of medicine who in classes with first-year medical students explores the social and political context of the oath they are required to take, explicates the public symbolism of the event, and examines students’ experiences through reflective essays that they write. Contrarily, and perhaps ironically given the intent of this book, Connor eschews any bioethical agenda. The author uses the W.C.C. at M.U.N. and his pedagogy surrounding it here as a case study to illustrate that while students may be carefully taught, perhaps more importantly students need to carefully think (pace Rodgers & Hammerstein).