Annual White Coat Ceremony

&
Maharshi Charak Shapath
Narayana Medical College, Nellore

Program:
White coat ceremony is a rite of passage in the journey toward a healthcare career. It is also a process
of "conversion" of a lay person into a member of the healthcare profession
This ceremony marks a change in tradition, introducing students to the Oath before starting their first
year of study. This was intended to provide students with well-defined guidelines regarding the
expectations and responsibilities appropriate for the medical profession prior to their first day of class.
This ceremony initiated by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation in 1993, a white coat is placed on each
student’s shoulders and the Hippocratic Oath / Maharshi Charak Shapath/ is recited, signifying their
entrance into the medical profession.
Few words about Hippocrates. It is one of the most widely known of Greek medical texts. It requires a
new physician to swear, by a number of healing gods, to uphold specific ethical standards. The oath is
the earliest expression of medical ethics establishing several principles of medical ethics which
remain of paramount significance today. These include the principles of medical confidentiality and
non-maleficence. As the seminal articulation of certain principles that continue to guide and inform
medical practice, the ancient text is of more than historic and symbolic value. Swearing a modified
form of the oath remains a rite of passage for medical graduates in many countries, and is a
requirement enshrined in legal statutes of various jurisdictions, such that violations of the oath may
carry criminal or other liability beyond the oath's symbolic nature.
About Maharshi Charak Shapath. It is a passage of text in Charaka Samhita, a Sanskrit text on
Ayurveda believed to have been composed between 100 BCE and 200 CE. These are a set of
instructions by a teacher to prospective students of the science of medicine. According to Charaka
Samhita, the unconditional agreement to abide by these instructions is a necessary precondition to be
eligible to be taught in the science of medicine. The passage gives explicit instructions on the
necessity of practicing self-discipline during student life, student-teacher relationship, the importance
of committing oneself fully and completely for the well-being of the patient, whom to treat, how to
behave with women, and several other related issues.
Schedule:
10.00 am Inviting the Guests on stage
10.05 am Details of White Coat Ceremony
10.10 am Speech by IMA President
10.20 am Speech by Dean
10.30 am White Coat grandeur
10.50 am Maharshi Charak Shapath
11.00 am Conclusion