White Coat Weekend

After a week of orientation, retreat, and mingling with new classmates, it was time to be inducted to the medical profession. Christina, my mother, father, mother-in-law, and grandmother-in-law came to my White Coat Ceremony on Thursday. I enjoyed the speakers, particularly the keynote speaker who talked about the art of medicine, the responsibility of being entrusted with patients' health, and maintaining your sense-of-self as a doctor, among other things. After listening to a few speeches and the presentation of some other awards, I was presented with my white coat and stethoscope.

As I sat through the rest of the ceremony I specifically noticed the weight of the stethoscope around my neck. It made me think of the weight of the medical profession. I will decisions every day that change lives. I will be my patients' advocate. I will be entrusted with intimate details of my patients' lives. I will have to break bad news to families in a sensitive, appropriate way. I will be obligated to weigh in on policy decisions at a national and institutional level. I will be required to stay abreast of new developments to offer my patients the best care available. Most of all, I will have to sacrifice precious time with family to serve others. I am sure I am not even aware of all the demands and challenges of medicine, but I am confident I will find my career exciting and rewarding.


Yesterday was Family Day at the medical school. They brought out the good food for the parents (better than most of what we had been eating at other Orientation week activities), and then treated us to a round of entertaining, informative lectures from some popular faculty members. Then we had a student panel who responded to questions about how to survive the first year, how to balance school with family, etc.


We loved the time with family and appreciate their support of us during this phase of our lives. When I have a few extra minutes, I will post about what we did after Family Day at the Denver Botanical Gardens. Until next time...