Rite of passage
School of Dentistry celebrates white coat ceremony
Fist bumps, broad smiles and lots of newly pressed white coats were displayed at an annual School of Dentistry event, a rite of passage for students transitioning into patient care.
“That’s my brother right there, the doctor!” one of the approximately 400 family and friends in the audience shouted from the lecture hall seats in the OHSU Robertson Life Sciences Building.
The annual white coat ceremony is for students who have completed their first year of dental school and are preparing to assist their third- and fourth-year peers in the school’s clinics.
The joyous event brings the students together with their family, friends and the School of Dentistry faculty to formally acknowledge the students’ achievements and prepare them for taking care of patients.
“Dentists are among the most trusted and respected health care professionals, said Dean Ron Sakaguchi, D.D.S., M.S., Ph.D., M.B.A, to the 68 students in attendance. “Your patients entrust you with one of the most visible and sensitive areas of their bodies.”
Sakaguchi, dental faculty, an alumna and a member from the American College of Dentists, provided words of wisdom, insights into ethical responsibility and the story behind the evolution of the white coat during the one-hour ceremony on a warm July 19 afternoon.
Highs and lows
Carly Petersen, D.M.D., ’19, president of the School of Dentistry Alumni Association, offered the support of OHSU alumni to the second-year students and a glimpse of what’s to come.
“You will begin to experience the highs and lows of seeing patients. The joy of a successful outcome, and witnessing the genuine happiness of a satisfied patient, which is immensely rewarding. Equally important are the setbacks and disappointments that bring an invaluable opportunity to learn, grow and surpass your previous best,” she said.
Karan Replogle, D.D.S., M.S., senior associate dean of clinical systems, presented lessons on what the coat can represent to patients: white coat hypertension.
“Thirty percent of patients with a diagnosis of hypertension will have an increase in blood pressure that may impact your ability to deliver dental care,” she said.
She cautioned that patients may experience stress from unconscious reactions or past inequitable care when they see a dentist wearing medical clothing.
From quackery to hope
The ceremony of white coats in health care education is traced to about 1990 at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and then, in 1993, at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, according to Gary Stafford, D.M.D., senior associate dean for academic systems.
The white color of the coat harkens back to the middle of the 19 th century when scientists demonstrated how medical treatments during that time were little more than “quackery,” said Stafford, who emceed the School of Dentistry event.
Health care professionals cast off black robes they had been wearing and began donning scientific laboratory coats to demonstrate rational care for patients. Over time, as hospitals evolved from places where people went to die to houses of healing, and health care professionals embraced science, the coat became a symbol of hope, cleanliness, seriousness and purpose.
“The white coat … is a cloak of compassion for those we care for. The white coat serves as a symbol to signify that our responsibility is not only to take care of patients but also to care for our patients,” said Stafford.
Cloaked by bridge
During their educational experience, dental students are split up into six groups. Each group emulates a dental clinic where they treat patients. The School of Dentistry clinics are named after iconic Portland bridges—Broadway, Fremont, Hawthorne, St. Johns, Sellwood and Steel.
When it was time to receive their white coats, with their names embroidered on the left breast, the students lined up in their bridge groups and were individually called to the front of the room. The faculty practice leader helped put on the coat before the students waved to the audience and had their photo taken with the dean.
Shouts of joy, laughter and “That’s my sister!” and “Yeah, Daniel!” came from the crowd.
Once the students had their new coats, Connie Masuoka, D.M.D., past chair of the American College of Dentists, Oregon section, presented a short summary of ethical decision making and professionalism.
Each student got a copy of the American College of Dentists ethics handbook for dentists. The American College of Dentists also provides the coats to the School of Dentistry.
The ceremony wrapped up with words from the dean about advancing the profession.
“Please wear your white coat responsibly. Set a high bar for yourself to become the best dentist you can be and work to create a health care system that is accessible, welcoming and equitable for all patients,” he said.
The second-year students are currently taking an intensive six-week summer lab course. Starting in the fall, they will observe patients and assist with patient care. Next spring, they will be assigned patients of their own. They will conduct exams, cleanings and simple operative procedures. Next summer once the students enter their third year, they will see patients full time and conduct a gamut of procedures.
Story by Rhonda Morin, APR. Photos by the School of Dentistry
Second-year student Bianca Hill proudly wears a necklace made from dollar bills during a white coat ceremony.
Beryl Chen and Hannah Dong take a selfie before the ceremony begins.
Second-year student Daniel Kim receives his white coat.
The Class of 2027 in their new white coats.
