Of symbols and ceremonies
My white coat ceremony was last week. For those of you not in the know, the purpose of the white coat ceremony is to officially indoctrinate incoming medical students into the profession.
There is a line of thought that criticizes the white coat ceremony. The reasoning goes: if you are set apart as a different class than your patients, then your patients cannot truly ever be close to you. That extra distance, the width of a swatch of white polyester, is a means of proclaiming your power over everyone who comes into your office. It is as powerful as the whip or the yellow sleeve, and as harmful.
I believe that criticism is sometimes valid when applied to the white coat as worn when treating patients, but I also believe that here, at the beginning of our careers, the white coat is an important reminder to the new student. We have no power over patients until later - we have yet to learn the spells and potions.
At the ceremony, we are given a white coat and told "You are no longer of the people. You are of the elite. While you do not yet hold the skills to lead the way, you are now newly responsible. You must act as if you were already leaders. You must be discreet and above all, you must be trusted and trustworthy."
At the end of the ceremony, all of the doctors present are invited to reaffirm their Hippocratic Oath. The words roll around the auditorium, echoed from hundreds of mouths and blending into a community voice which speaks for those who have been here before. It is a prayer, a blessing, a benediction upon all who come to us garbed in gowns, hat in hand and hopes in heart.
I am not a religious man. I don't know what the true face of evil is. Is it selfishness? Is it sin? Is it repression of others to further your own beliefs? Despite my pristine new raiment, I'm no priest to be able to answer those questions.
All I can say is that here, in the presence of so many who have dedicated their lives to combat illness, I find at least one thing that I can point to and say "There. That is goodness. That is righteousness, as pure as it comes. That is, finally, my purpose too."
There is a line of thought that criticizes the white coat ceremony. The reasoning goes: if you are set apart as a different class than your patients, then your patients cannot truly ever be close to you. That extra distance, the width of a swatch of white polyester, is a means of proclaiming your power over everyone who comes into your office. It is as powerful as the whip or the yellow sleeve, and as harmful.
I believe that criticism is sometimes valid when applied to the white coat as worn when treating patients, but I also believe that here, at the beginning of our careers, the white coat is an important reminder to the new student. We have no power over patients until later - we have yet to learn the spells and potions.
At the ceremony, we are given a white coat and told "You are no longer of the people. You are of the elite. While you do not yet hold the skills to lead the way, you are now newly responsible. You must act as if you were already leaders. You must be discreet and above all, you must be trusted and trustworthy."
At the end of the ceremony, all of the doctors present are invited to reaffirm their Hippocratic Oath. The words roll around the auditorium, echoed from hundreds of mouths and blending into a community voice which speaks for those who have been here before. It is a prayer, a blessing, a benediction upon all who come to us garbed in gowns, hat in hand and hopes in heart.
I am not a religious man. I don't know what the true face of evil is. Is it selfishness? Is it sin? Is it repression of others to further your own beliefs? Despite my pristine new raiment, I'm no priest to be able to answer those questions.
All I can say is that here, in the presence of so many who have dedicated their lives to combat illness, I find at least one thing that I can point to and say "There. That is goodness. That is righteousness, as pure as it comes. That is, finally, my purpose too."