White Coat Ceremony

For a medical student, the white coat ceremony marks the beginning of their careers as physicians. They are presented with a short white coat in a special ceremony held by their school.
Luke's white coat ceremony was held on September 3, 2016. The day before, during orientation, they practiced for the ceremony, and I have to admit, I was tearing up. 

All of the studying, praying, working, and waiting had led to this moment that would mark the beginning of his dream career.
The ceremony was to be held at Faith Temple Church with a reception following at Young Island. We packed our bathing suits and towels for the reception, got all dressed up, and rode the bus to the church.

The ceremony was very nice. They included a video of previous students giving advice and telling about their experiences. A doctor gave the history behind the white coat and explained that to distinguish them as students, they would be donning short white coats instead of the longer ones that physicians wear.

There were several important people in attendance at the ceremony. St. Vincent's Minister of Education, Honorable St. Clair "Jimmy" Prince spoke to the audience along with Steven R. Wilson, the president of Trinity School of Medicine.


The prime minister was traveling, so he was unable to make it to the ceremony. Most likely the most prestigious person in attendance was Governor General Frederick Ballantyne. He is the man appointed by the Queen of England to be the head of state in St. Vincent. When he entered the room, it was protocol to stand for him. He stood on stage and shook the hands of those receiving white coats.

After the video and speeches, it was time for the students to receive their coats. Row by row, they stood and walked onto the stage where a faculty member put their white coat on them. The students then shook the Governor General's hand and returned to their seats. I was too busy trying to take good pictures to cry at the ceremony.












After the ceremony ended, there was time for pictures before we loaded onto the buses to head for Young Island. We arrived at the dock, and had to take small ferry boats across to the island. Our trip across was not uneventful. About halfway across, someone noticed a cockroach crawling on another person. A lady jumped up and across to the other side of the boat, and a guy took his water bottle and smashed the roach. It was pretty gross, and for the rest of the ride, everyone was keeping watch in case there were more. 


The resort on the island allowed us to use their facilities to change into more comfortable clothing to enjoy the beautiful island. We were given free buffet style food and drinks, which, as poor medical students is such a blessing! The food was delicious, and allowed us to try some Vincentian cooking,  such as plantain salad and breadfruit. I was not a huge fan of the breadfruit, but overall, everything was delicious!

We also enjoyed being on the beach and swimming in the beautiful Caribbean Sea. Even without goggles, I could see fish and sea urchins. The water was the perfect temperature. It was just cool enough to be refreshing, but not so cool that it would make us cold.





After a few hours on Young Island, we decided it was time to head back to our apartment. Just as we were leaving, it began to rain--perfect timing! We had a wonderful time, and I'm so thankful that I was able to be with Luke on such a fun and momentous occasion.

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