2012 White Coat Ceremony

College of Allied Health Professions White Coat Ceremony 2012 The White Coat Ceremony is a momentus event for entering College of Allied Health Professions students (Health Sciences, Physician Assistant, and Physical Therapy). Students are provided with the opportunity to gather in the presence of their families, friends, faculty and alumni members to "receive the cloak of their future profession - the white coat".

Through the support of dedicated local partners, students and their families, and generous alumni, the College of Allied Health Professions seeks to defray the cost of the White Coat for each of its students. We hope that you will take the opportunity to place an ad in the White Coat Ceremony Program to support our students or donate a white coat today. For more information, please see the links at the bottom of this page.

History of the White Coat Ceremony

The White Coat Ceremony itself was started by Dr. Arnold P. Gold at Columbia University’s College of Physicians And Surgeons in 1991 and has since been adopted at many Health Professional Schools across the Nation. By having a ceremony where entering students are “cloaked” with their very first white lab coat, we are calling particular attention to the individual’s choice to become a Health Sciences Educator, Physician Assistant, or Physical Therapist, and of equal importance, bringing to focus the true meaning of that choice - that you must cure, but also care.

The 2012 White Coat Ceremony will be held on August 11, 2012 at 1time TBD at the Ontario Convention Center following Western University of Health Sciences Convocation (Ontario Convention Center).

If you have any questions, please contact Tiffany Witherspoon at

(909) 469-5545 or Lorraine Halverson at (909) 469-5390 or cahpwhitecoat@westernu.edu.