Alyssa Mixon, DO, delivers White Coat Ceremony keynote address at her alma mater.
Alyssa Cole Mixon, DO, a cancer rehabilitation physician and assistant professor in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at the University of Virginia, was invited to deliver the White Coat Ceremony keynote address this past weekend at her alma mater medical school, the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNECOM) in Portland, Maine.
The White Coat Ceremony is an important milestone for first-year medical students that establishes the expectations and responsibilities of the medical field. It represents the beginning of their journey to becoming a doctor. During the event, medical students receive the iconic white coat and recite the oath (i.e. Hippocratic oath) to uphold themselves to the highest ethical and moral standards of care. This tradition symbolizes their commitment to provide the best quality of care with duty, honor, respect, professionalism, compassion, and altruism.
In addition to delivering the speech, Dr. Mixon coated all 178 medical students as a symbolic gesture, having been in their shoes and now being able to pass on the knowledge and “white coat” to the next generation of physicians.
The full ceremony including her speech can be watched here.
Filed Under: Faculty