August 28, 2006 Source: :
http://communications.uwo.ca/media_newsroom/story.html?listing_id=21765 WHITE COAT CEREMONY FOR FUTURE DOCTORS London, ON - It's a four year journey that starts with a white coat and ends with a graduation gown. The Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at The University of Western Ontario will present the Meds Class of 2010 with their inaugural white coats on Wednesday, August 30 at 9:00 a.m. in Room 145 of the Natural Sciences Building. When students put on their first laboratory coat, they are symbolically accepting the professional, social and ethical responsibilities that go with their chosen career path. The 139 future doctors, selected from over 2,500 applicants, will also be asked to repeat the Hippocratic Oath. "These are challenging times for medical students, both financially and politically," says Dean Carol Herbert. "We expect our students to join in the debate over maintaining an accessible health care system in Canada, in order to create solutions to problems such as not enough family doctors and long waits for surgery." Schulich Medicine & Dentistry is easing the financial strain for its students by providing scholarships, awards and bursaries totaling $4.5 million annually. The number of first year medical students has increased by six, up from 133 last year. Fifty-five of the students are from communities in Southwestern Ontario which is part of a strategy to attract more physicians to the region's under-serviced areas. Two of the three spaces reserved for qualified Aboriginal students have been filled this year, along with the three concurrent MD/Engineering spaces. Patient-centred care epitomizes the curriculum at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry, and that applies to students in the Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) program as much as it does to Western's medical students. The Dentistry Class of 2010 will receive their white coats at a ceremony September 1st at 10:30 a.m. at the Talbot College Theatre. For more information contact:
Kathy Wallis, Media Relations Officer
Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry
The University of Western Ontario
(519) 661-2111 ext. 81136
Kathy.wallis@schulich.uwo.ca
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