White Coat Ceremony - The Gold Foundation

Skip to content

White Coat Ceremony

• Background and Significance
• Medical Ceremony Toolkit
• Nursing Ceremony Toolkit

Columbia Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons celebrates their 30th White Coat Ceremony — which was also the 30th anniversary of the ceremony itself.

The White Coat Ceremony is an iconic ritual that emphasizes compassionate, collaborative, scientifically excellent care from the very first day of training in the healthcare professions. The Gold Foundation established this tradition in 1993 at Columbia University as a way to highlight the importance of humanism in all care of patients.

For 30 years, the Foundation has seeded White Coat Ceremonies at medical schools and, starting in 2014, White Coat/Oath and Pledge Ceremonies at nursing schools, around the globe. Read more about the background and significance of this iconic ceremony.

• Request Pins

Contact our Staff:

• Stacy Ann Morris, MPA mail_outline
• Louisa Tvito, MSW mail_outline

Visit our Medical Ceremony Toolkit and Nursing Ceremony Toolkit for downloadable templates, ideas from different schools’ ceremonies, example oaths and pledges, and more. First time ceremony? Each toolkit also includes a link to tips on ceremony planning logistics.

Request the Gold Foundation’s free Keeping Healthcare Human lapel pins 30 days in advance of your ceremony here.