On Saturday, June 4, PNWU’s College of Osteopathic Medicine (COM) hosted the 2022 White Coat Ceremony, live from Yakima’s historic Capitol Theatre. As our second-year Osteopathic Medical Students prepare to advance into their clinical rotations, the ceremony serves to recognize their pre-clinical accomplishments and celebrate the momentous transition ahead.
This year’s ceremony style served as a first for the non-profit health sciences university, as it formerly served to recognize newly incoming students’ transition from undergraduate to medical education. Kelly Noyes, DO, PNWU assistant professor of internal medicine, served as the events keynote speaker.
“Having been a part of each type of ceremony, I firmly believe the pre-rotation ceremony to be the more meaningful of the two,” explained Thomas Scandalis, DO, Dean of PNWU-COM, to the Class of 2024. “The transition from the classroom to the clinical world – from lecture halls and quizzes to hospitals and real medical challenges — represents your promotion as a member of the health care workforce. This ceremony now fully recognizes that significant occasion.”
