White Coat Ceremonies Welcome Midwestern’s Future Healthcare Team to the Profession

First-Year Students Step Forward to Receive Their White Coats

Midwestern University welcomed over 1,000 students on the Downers Grove and Glendale campuses with the annual White Coat Ceremonies this fall. This rite of passage marks entry into the healthcare profession as students receive their white coat and recite the Oath of Commitment. 

Cristopher Trujillo, O.T.D., OTR/L, Program Director of Occupational Therapy, spoke on the symbolism of the white coat. “It represents the responsibility you are preparing to carry; the responsibility to care for others with knowledge, skill, compassion, and integrity. It represents the trust that patients and families will one day place in you, often during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. Most importantly, it represents a commitment to lifelong learning, to service, to professionalism, and to putting the well-being and dignity of those you serve at the center of your work.”

After the students were coated on stage by faculty from their respective programs, they stood and recited the Oath of Commitment, agreeing to pursue and value the wisdom of the profession and take responsibility for their role as a future healthcare provider. 

Sarah Radtke, Ed.D., ATC, Dean, College of Health Sciences-Downers Grove pointed out that this commitment goes both ways. “By cloaking you in your first white coat, we too are making a commitment,” she explained. “We will challenge you to grow not only in your knowledge and skills, but also in your confidence, your compassion, your judgment, and your sense of purpose: to become the skilled, compassionate, and forward-thinking healthcare professionals our patients, our communities, and our professions will need in the years ahead.”

With this newly acquired responsibility came words of support, encouraging students to take care of themselves and lift their fellow classmates. Mitchell Emerson, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Pharmacy shared, “Over the coming years, you will face challenging curriculums, but know that your family, friends, and fellow students and faculty here today support you.” 

White Coat Ceremonies by the Numbers

• Arizona College of Optometry: 75
• Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine: 265
• Arizona College of Podiatric Medicine: 41
• College of Health Sciences – Downers Grove: 230
  • Clinical Psychology: 25
  • Occupational Therapy: 28
  • Physician Assistant: 84
  • Physical Therapy: 58
  • Speech-Language Pathology: 35
• College of Health Sciences – Glendale: 288
  • Cardiovascular Science: 34
  • Clinical Psychology: 30
  • Occupational Therapy: 23
  • Physician Assistant: 102
  • Physical Therapy: 58
  • Speech-Language Pathology: 41
• College of Pharmacy, Downers Grove: 62
• College of Pharmacy, Glendale: 71

Students from the Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine received their white coats at a ceremony earlier this year, and other Midwestern University students will receive white coats at future events.