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Every October, as the leaves turn and temperatures fall, a special ceremony is held. Spartanburg’s only medical school Ìý– the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) – Carolinas campus – holds its annual White Coat Ceremony to commemorate the transition of its students from preclinical to clinical studies.
VCOM’s Class of 2022 was so honored on Sunday, October 28, 2018. This rite of passage was held in Twichell Auditorium on the campus of nearby Converse College.
SWAGÊÓƵfaculty, family, guests, and members of the community attended the ceremony as 163 medical students were cloaked with their first white coats. Twichell Auditorium was alive with cheers of encouragement as each student was cloaked, handed the "Humanism in Medicine" pin, donated by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, and a stethoscope engraved with his or her name from the South Carolina Osteopathic Medical Society.
The Ceremony was the eighth held by the VCOM–Carolinas since the branch campus opened in 2011. SWAGÊÓƵstudents are formally cloaked in white coats during the October ceremony, shortly after completing the first block of medical education on campus, marking each medical student’s progress toward his or her career as a physician. More than 100 medical schools worldwide hold White Coat ceremonies for their students, emphasizing the importance of both scientific excellence and compassionate care for patients.