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| 2005 White Coat Ceremony Address
It is an honor for me to be on this stage, to be speaking to you on this banner day, as you receive your white coat. What a special occasion, one that I hope you will remember and reflect upon for years to come. First, let me thank you for attending pharmacy school at Southwestern. My life and the lives of my colleagues have been enriched by your lives. Your enthusiasm, zest for life, and even ability to keep from yawning in my pharmacy law class make you a very special group! For parents among us, thank you for sharing your children with us. You have done an excellent job in preparing them for life by instilling virtues and values which will serve them well in their careers. For spouses, thank you for being understanding and for allowing time away from your relationship in order for your mate to prepare for their chosen career. I know the sacrifice has been monumental. We are here today to start a new chapter in your lives. The white coat ceremony is truly a celebration for you as students and your families of past accomplishments and new beginnings. You have crossed many thresholds in your life. You are about to cross another. This is a day of recognition, not of what you were, but rather of who you are becoming. This recognition is one of a passage from mere student to recognized professional. As a pharmacist, I welcome you as a colleague. For you see, I, and the rest of the faculty, believe in you. You are entering an era of pharmacy when technology, information and knowledge are supreme. Regardless of how much you know or how much technology you embrace, your patients need a caring pharmacist more than ever. An old saying is so true, “people don’t care how much you know, until they know how much you care.” While knowledge is an important aspect of our profession, caring simply cannot be underestimated. The white coat that you are about to put on symbolizes the mantel of your chosen profession and it must be a cloak of compassion and caring. The white coat is a symbolic, non-verbal communication used to express and reaffirm a fundamental belief in a system that society observes. The authority of dress (or the white coat) is serious and purposeful, not social, casual or random. The dress of healers of primitive societies was an important part of the paraphernalia of healing. The uniform should imply a purely professional interest. It must convey to even the most anxious a sense of seriousness and purpose that helps provide reassurance and confidence that their illnesses will be dealt with competently and seriously. I wish that I had been told what a blessing it was to become a pharmacist. Daily, I thank God for the opportunities that this profession has given to me. I cannot imagine a more opportunity-filled profession. However, our ability to practice pharmacy is a gift granted to us by the people of this great state and of other states in which you will practice. The citizens give us the opportunity to practice and then they give us even more—something far more valuable—which is their trust. But this trust has come with a price. Generations of pharmacists before you were likewise given this trust and, over the years, practiced in such a fashion that this public trust has grown. For many years we have been viewed by the public as one of the most trusted and honest professions—rated even higher than the clergy. But along with trust comes responsibility. This responsibility to which I speak I hope will be embraced by you. As faculty and pharmacists we can’t force you to be responsible, to act with integrity, to display compassion or express empathy. You must decide for yourself if these values and such responsible behavior will be important for you. I hope that they are—for you see, you’re the generation of pharmacists that will set the stage for public trust for future generations of pharmacists. What legacy you will leave once your career is completed is a question we must all ask. You have been very successful in your pharmacy education. In practice we don’t get grades. Frankly, we get something better than grades. And I am not talking about a large paycheck for if you only see that as a means for success, you will never find happiness. Real joy comes not from ease or riches or from the praise of men, but from doing something worthwhile. Happiness lies in some vocation which satisfies the soul. Pharmacy is that worthwhile profession for you. I believe that you will find true success when you reach out and touch someone who is hurting, a victim of cancer, a depressed widow or a recently diagnosed diabetic and empathize with them, and feel the joy of knowing that you have truly helped them in their time of need. On your way out the door I would like to be able to issue each of you a bucket full of empathy and compassion so that you can sprinkle it around during your career. Yet it’s much like what we learned in knowing how to say “I’m sorry,” it’s not something that I can put in a tool belt or on a 3 by 5 card for you to take on the way out, but rather, this is something that must come from within. And, knowing you, I believe that you possess the virtues of compassion and empathy. I believe that each of you have not only the ability but also the desire to go out and make an incredible difference in the world in which we live. We, as faculty, look forward to hearing the stories of how you made this world a better place. Now, I encourage you to embrace our profession with all your heart and I charge you with being ambassadors of goodwill to the communities in which you will live, a beacon of hope to those you will touch and an empathic friend in relationships you will build as you wear your white coat. May God bless each of you. Thank you.
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