The new Physician Assistant program at Oklahoma City University opened with a white coat ceremony Saturday.
During the ceremony, 36 students took an oath of service and received their uniform lab coats. The ceremony was led by program director Daniel McNeill with a keynote presentation from Dr. George Selby, a professor and program director at the University of Oklahoma College of Medicine.
McNeil said white coat ceremonies are used by many medical, physician assistant, dental, pharmacy and allied health schools in the U.S. and other countries to welcome first-year students as colleagues dedicated to patient care. The concept originated at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine in 1989 with the first full-fledged ceremony being conducted in 1993 at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.
OCU’s PA program is only the third institution in the state to offer a PA program, joining OU Health Science Center programs in Oklahoma City and Tulsa.
OCU’s program has a strong emphasis on providing primary care in community hospitals and clinics.
For more information about the program, visit okcu.edu/physician-assistant or call 405-208-5094.
