School of Dentistry students don white coats to mark the start of clinical training
The OHSU School of Dentistry held its White Coat Ceremony on Friday, symbolizing professionalism and humanism.
OHSU’s dentistry class of 2029 was called upon by leaders to aspire to their highest calling as they embark on the start of patient care as part of their learning journey.
“Each of you will be stewards for the most vulnerable people,” OHSU President Shereef Elnahal, M.D., M.B.A., said to the class last week at a ceremony.
“Oral health is a marker of overall health. It’s necessary for people to thrive,” he said during an annual School of Dentistry White Coat event on Friday, July 17, in the OHSU Robertson Life Sciences Building.
Jariel Rolon-Valdes is helped into his white coat by faculty member Allison Broyles, D.M.D., M.S. (OHSU/Patrick Lee)
The ceremony symbolized the move of 75 second-year students from the classroom and simulation lab into hands-on clinical care. They will now assist their third- and fourth-year peers in dental clinics.
Executive Vice President and Provost Marie Chisholm-Burns, Pharm.D., Ph.D., M.P.H., M.B.A., FCCP, FASHP, FAST, FNAP, FACHE, acknowledged that the white coat represents a contract between the student and each patient under their care. The contract means that students—as dental professionals—will provide the best care possible in a compassionate and supportive environment to facilitate optimal oral health, thereby promoting the professionalism of dentistry.
“Every time you restore a decayed tooth or replace a missing tooth or treat periodontal disease, you are doing more than providing clinical care. You are helping someone reclaim or boost a part of their identity.
“As you continue your journey in this remarkable profession, I encourage you to remember that behind the teeth there is a person, behind every treatment plan there is a story and behind every successful outcome there is a smile that may transform a life,” said Chisholm-Burns.
AI can’t compete
Despoina Bompolaki, D.D.S., M.S., FACP, assistant dean for clinical systems, reassured students that advancements in artificial intelligence will not take their places.
“No algorithm can replace empathy, compassion, reassurance or the trust that develops between a patient and the person wearing the white coat,” Bompolaki said.
“AI may be an incredible tool, but it will never replace the human inside the white coat you are putting on today,” she added.
Care for community
Students called to the front of the auditorium faced their family and friends while faculty members from their clinic groups helped them into crisp white coats.
School of Dentistry Dean Ron Sakaguchi, D.D.S., Ph.D., M.B.A., closed the ceremony by reminding the students that they are entrusted with caring for one of the most sensitive and visible areas of the body.
“Every patient is a unique individual
Hannah Anderson (Richardson) gets high-fives from dentistry faculty members. (OHSU/Jordan Sleeth)
with concerns, anxieties, life experiences and prior encounters with healthcare systems. It is essential that we seek to understand every patient who comes to us, with compassion, empathy and respect,” Sakaguchi said.
“Be your patient’s coach and navigator,” he added.
History
The white coats, embossed with a student’s name and the OHSU logo, signal the part of the profession rooted in science, service and ethics.
The ceremony of white coats in health care education is traced to the 1990s at the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, said Gary Stafford, D.M.D., senior associate dean for academic systems at the School of Dentistry.
“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,” Stafford said.
Story by Rhonda Morin, APR
