Occupational therapy and PA programs celebrate white coat ceremonies

The Doctor of Occupational Therapy and Master of Physician Assistant Studies programs held white coat ceremonies in May to highlight their students’ transition to the clinical phase of their respective programs.

The OTD Class of 2026 gathered on May 9 for their white coat and recognition ceremony, which featured awards and recognitions of leadership, research and scholarship in addition to the traditional donning of the white coats.

“Occupational therapy is a vital and unique health profession that focuses on supporting people to find ways of living and doing things that are important to them, participating in their everyday lives,” Professor and Department Chair Bridgett Piernik-Yoder, PhD, OTR, FAOTA, told students and guests. She went on to summarize the students’ accomplishments in two years of classroom and lab study.

“To quantify what you have achieved in your didactic education to be prepared to enter your fieldwork and capstone experiences, I estimate that you have taken about 100 exams, written about 30 treatment plans, completed around 25 to 30 lab exams; you’ve learned hands-on treatment approaches and interventions for psychosocial approaches, group process, sensory integration, activities of daily living, mobility and positioning, splinting, physical agent modalities — all with the goal of supporting people’s ability to engage in the occupations that are meaningful to them.”

The 59 students the MPAS Class of 2027 received their white coats and pins on May 12.

School of Health Professions Dean David Shelledy, PhD, RRT, FAARC, FASAHP, shared remarks with both groups of students, providing background on the history of the white coat ceremony and encouraging them to remember the responsibilities their white coats represent.

“The focus must always remain on high levels of professionalism and ethical conduct,” Shelledy told the PA students. “The hallmarks of professionalism include skill, good judgment, ethical practice, respect, integrity, and collaboration — and a dedication to the quality provision of access to health care and patient safety.”

Department of Physician Assistant Studies Chair and Program Director Paul B. Allen, Sr., DSc, MPAS, PA-C, told the students that their actions as providers will affect how patients view the white coat as a symbol of care.

“The meaning of this white coat varies from person to person, and that meaning is prone to change depending on the behavior of the individual wearing the white coat,” Allen said. “Make no mistake that this white coat represents certain things to patients. At the very least it should represent to you as the provider your duty to patients you are seeing.”

Both ceremonies drew large numbers of family and friends to Holly Auditorium.