On Sunday, July 11, all the incoming medical students of Case Western Reserve University, including the 32 CCLCM students, gathered at Severance Hall for the White Coat Ceremony. During the ceremony, the students receive their white coats and stand to read their Oath of Professionalism (shown below) together.
Sherrie Dixon Williams, MD, a pulmonary critical care specialist with the MetroHealth System, delivered the keynote address.
View a recording of the White Coat Ceremony.
Oath of Professionalism 2021
As the entering Class of 2021, we humbly acknowledge the immense privilege of the white coats we have received today, and the obligations we now carry to ourselves, our future patients, and our communities.
We will innovate, collaborate, and deliver care with the highest integrity. We will strive for mastery, humbly learn from our shortcomings, and seek self-improvement. As students and teachers, leaders and followers, caregivers and patients, we are committed to lifelong learning and exercising compassion toward ourselves, our colleagues, and others.
We will respect our patients’ autonomy and understand that they are experts of their own experience. We will strive to be empathetic healers of the body, spirit, and mind. We will tirelessly advocate for our patients’ best interests and empower their voices.
We will build mutual trust with all of our patients, especially those in marginalized communities. We pledge to champion social justice and eliminate disparities both within and beyond the clinic. We will confront the public health crisis of racism in Cleveland, and strive to apply this perspective to advance the standard of care throughout our medical careers.
Through research, innovation, and advocacy, we will become agents of change.
Photo credit: Daniel Milner
