White Coat Ceremony

This symbolic event welcomes medical students into the profession of medicine and emphasizes the importance of compassionate care for the patient as well as scientific proficiency. Students will recite an oath in the presence of their family, friends and the Geisinger Commonwealth community. That oath represents their public acknowledgment of the responsibilities of the profession and their willingness to assume such obligations.

In addition, all students will receive their white coat — the mantle of the medical profession — in a hands-on experience that symbolizes the bonding process between physician and patient.

Each year, a speaker is invited to give the Dr. Lester Saidman Memorial Lecture.

White coats are provided by the Stanley J. Dudrick, MD, FACS, and Alan G. Goldstein Endowed Fund.

We would like to acknowledge the Arnold P. Gold Foundation for the gift of Humanism in Medicine lapel pins.