College holds first virtual White Coat Ceremony

Wendy Grant, MD, associate dean for student affairs, speaks at the virtual White Coat ceremony.

When fourth-year medical student Melissa Bavitz received her white coat upon entering medical school three years ago, it was onstage at the Joslyn Art Museum, alongside all of her incoming classmates and in front of an auditorium full of families and friends — including her younger brother, Kyle.

When Kyle Bavitz — now a first-year medical student — received his white coat this month, he was in a room with a small group of classmates — although his sister, as a senior student, was able to be in the room and give him the ceremonial white coat. (This was possible because Melissa was one of 25 fourth-year medical students who volunteered to be a part of the ceremony.)

The College of Medicine’s White Coat Ceremony was delayed, but finally held virtually earlier this month, allowing first-year students to take part in a hallowed tradition of the profession. At the event, Dean Bradley Britigan, MD, called the ceremony “the first step in the transition of our newest class of students to becoming physicians” and a tradition that “marks the beginning of a long and challenging journey.”

New students were gathered in small groups in different, Zoom-enabled rooms, and the ceremony moved virtually from room to room as five first-year students per room were coated by a fourth-year student.

The ceremony was the result of a lot of work, care and creative, out-of-the-box thinking by college faculty and staff, said Wendy Grant, MD, associate dean for student affairs at the college.

“The first priority was to hold the ceremony,” Dr. Grant said. “The second was for the students to be able to share it with their families.

“At one point, we had about 350 people on the Zoom during the ceremony, which shows how important this ceremony is to the families,” she said. “We also wanted to make the students understand that even though their education is being delivered a little differently because of COVID, they still are an incredibly important part of the College of Medicine.”

Dr. Grant credited the workers and staff in the dean’s office, led by Lisa Paquette, for their efforts to streamline the logistics for the ceremony. The result of all the hard work, she said, was a ceremony that was surprisingly fun.

“Once the students in each room realized it was their turn to be live on the Zoom, some would wave to their family or give a thumbs up,” she said. “It was nice to see the students supporting each other in the room, as well — they were muted, but you could see them applauding for their fellow classmates.”

The ceremony was enjoyable, Kyle Bavitz said.

“Maybe it was the closure I got in finally getting my white coat, or maybe it was that I am so used to Zoom-based schooling, but this didn’t feel weird,” he said. “The ceremony itself was very similar (to my sister’s three years ago), with a few speeches before and after and with the white coats being given out in the middle.”

“One cool difference was that on the Zoom call, we were able to have the chat function up, so we could see the parents typing congratulatory messages in real time as the students were getting coated. That was special,” Melissa Bavitz said.

Dr. Grant agreed.

“Seeing messages like, ‘We’re so proud of you!’ and ‘White looks good on you!’ — it was really heartwarming,” she said.

Another difference, Melissa Bavitz said, was that Kyle knew his classmates better than she had, since this year’s ceremony was delayed.

“They knew their group of peers, so it was special for them to be in the same room with a close group of peers and watch each other get their white coats,” she said. “At my ceremony, we didn’t know each other very much yet.”

Kyle Bavitz agreed.

“I have met and made friends with other students through school and studying,” he said. “It enhanced the experience for me as I was able to cheer them on and celebrate the accomplishment together.”

Melissa Bavitz also praised the college for its creativity.

“Given all the restrictions we have, they did all they could to make it special and make sure family was included,” she said.

“My family has always had a strong link to the field of medicine, with three grandparents and our father all being in the health profession,” Kyle Bavitz said. “Having my older sister put the white coat on felt like she was welcoming me into that group of family professionals. I have always looked up to her and in many ways followed her. Now we are together in this wonderful field, and that just feels amazing.