VCU School of Medicine to Hold 17th Annual White Coat Ceremony

By Eric Peters and Sam Isaacs

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine will welcome approximately 200 new students at its annual White Coat Ceremony this week.

The ceremony will be held Friday, Aug. 10, at 2 p.m. in Grand Ballroom A at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, 403 N. Third St.

The ceremony is a School of Medicine tradition in which the incoming class of 2016 will be cloaked with their first white coats by senior faculty members. Students also recite the Hippocratic Oath, which articulates doctors' empathy and responsibility to patients.

This year’s keynote speaker is Richard Wenzel, M.D., professor and former chair of internal medicine in the VCU School of Medicine and internationally renowned infectious disease expert.

Editor's Note: Media representatives who wish to cover the ceremony should contact Eric Peters at 804-828-0563 by noon on Aug. 10.