The 15th Annual White Coat Ceremony at Baylor College of Medicine took place this August. First-year medical students, who began classes in early August, received their white coats in front of family, friends and members of the BCM community at a ceremony held at the Bayou City Events Center.

2014 White Coat Ceremony
Students received white coats, which are sponsored by BCM alumni through the White Coat Fund.
Dr. Alicia Monroe, provost and senior vice president of academic and faculty affairs, welcomed the students and their loved ones. “Class of 2018, this is your special day,” she said.
She also reminded students and families about the importance of donning the white coat.
“We should all pause to remember and reflect upon the sacred responsibility we have. I encourage you to reflect on this very important milestone and journey,” she said.
Dr. George Noon, professor of surgery and a member of Baylor College of Medicine’s class of 1960, was the recipient of this year’s Bobby Alford Award for Academic Clinical Professionalism from the Ben and Margaret Love Foundation. Noon addressed the first-year medical students, reminding them that medicine is a humanitarian profession and that they should treat each patient with the utmost respect.
Dr. Francis H. Gannon, professor of pathology & immunology and orthopedic surgery, gave the faculty address, reminding faculty, students and parents that medical students will make mistakes. He told the families that medical school is no joke, and that greeting cards, phone calls and even baked goods are much appreciated during medical school.
Gannon reminded the students that there are more to patients than numbers and that they would not only be physicians, but also healers.
The ceremony concluded with the Baylor College of Medicine Medical Student Oath.
Baylor College of Medicine
Medical Student Oath
As a medical student at Baylor College of Medicine and as a future physician,
I will practice medicine to the highest standards of conduct by doing what is best for my patients and allowing neither greed, nor miserliness, nor thirst for great reputation corrupt me.
I will cultivate the virtues of integrity, honesty, compassion, courage, respect, and self-sacrifice in myself and in my colleagues.
I will remember that my actions impact the way the world perceives medicine.
I will cherish the diversity among my patients and my colleagues, and will not tolerate any form of discrimination or harassment.
I will respect those who are wiser than I am and will gratefully follow their guidance.
I will be compassionate, and never see in the patient anything less than a fellow creature in pain.
Today is the first step in a lifetime of learning, and I promise to always challenge the extent of my knowledge.
May the white coat I don today remind me of the promises I have made, and of my duty to make medicine better.”