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White Coat Ceremony - School of Pharmacy
 On Friday October 6, hundreds of people packed into Cole Hall to witness the White Coat Ceremony for the School of Pharmacy class of 2010. Firstyear pharmacy student Thomas Yi reflected how he “thought the ceremony was a great time to share with family and friends the beginning of our professional careers.”
The ceremony began with a processional of the first-year class filtering down the aisles and to their designated seats. The dean of the School of Pharmacy, Dr. Mary Anne Koda-Kimble, gave the first speech commending the class for being the 123 accepted students out of a competitive pool of last year’s 1200 applicants into the number one rated School of Pharmacy in the nation. As a recognized icon for bringing respect to the profession from pill dispensing to a resource for the public about drug therapy, Kimble emphasized that these students were chosen not solely based on academics but because of their dedication to serving the community.
John T. Skhal, president of the alumni association, offered the mentorship support and employment opportunities on behalf of the association during the next four years and beyond. The chair of the Department of Clinical Pharmacy, Dr. Joe Guglielmo, then took the podium to present an optimistic future after graduation. Guglielmo quoted studies conducted by the government about the endless possibilities for Pharm.D.’s. Among the career paths he mentioned were health policy, clinical and pharmacological research, governmental approval and post-marketing surveillance of drugs, medication therapy management that minimizes medication costs for patients, and response to an increasing array of infectious diseases.
The highlight of the event was the announcement of each student’s name by Associate Dean Dr. Chris Cullander as the students proceeded to the stage led by class president, Patrick Tokuyama. Honorable members of the faculty and alumni coated each student and were reciprocated with hugs from their respective student.
Fourth-year pharmacy student Jonathan Dao also gave a speech about being at his personal best after getting to know such a motivated and intelligent group of students at UCSF. Led by Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy, Nancy Nkansah, PharmD, the class recited the “Oath of a Pharmacist” to pledge their lifelong commitment to serving the community and the profession. First-year pharmacy student, Christine Bang, commented “that’s when it really hit me that I am making a promise before them to help serve them and the rest of the public in whatever way I can, and it marked the beginning of a journey into a profession I’ve always dreamed about being a part of.” Robert L. Day concluded the ceremony by making his closing remarks in welcoming the class to the school.
The post-ceremony celebration continued as brothers of Phi Delta Chi presented the newly coated class with red carnations along with gifts from second year advisers. The mood of the crowd was jovial as they made their way to Millberry Union for the reception sponsored by the School of Pharmacy. The student pharmacists may have felt a mixture of living up to such a prestigious university and a renewed hope for a successful future, but the event marked their first steps into a profession that was the stuff of their dreams for so many years prior to that day.
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