The University of Rwanda’s medical students from departments of Medicine and Surgery, Pharmacy, and Dental Surgery has today, 28 October 2022, taken a Hippocratic Oath at White Coat Ceremony that has happened at Huye Campus main auditorium.
In an amazing ceremony, medical students have been in their smart clothes: beautiful various sorts of dresses, trousers, and suits, students, lecturers, friends of medical students, and parents were all gathered in the room happily.
Mr Francis Dufitumuremyi, a student in the department of Medicine and Surgery expressed his contentment at white Coat Day after his long journey of education.
“Today marks a historic moment as we take this oath ahead of Clinical placement. It happens after many years of studies after progressive study to us, students.
The patient’s life comes before anything else in our courses during our classes. It is our concern to see patients happy above all,” he said
Francis <With a smiling face> says that choosing medical studies was his passion since his childhood. He says <loughing> “I felt it would please me if I, for instance, do a surgery to a patient and goes home treated.”
Mrs Diane Ingabire, another year three medical student expresses her feelings at the White Coat Ceremony. Again, informing that her wish from early childhood was achieved, she marks the white coat ceremony as an amazing day that takes her into the profession.
“White Coat Ceremony is a sign that our dream is yet to come true regardless of all hardships. It also marks our practical journey because the past was all about theories. So, the white coat reminds my hard work so that I can achieve my dream. It is my time to work that harder,” says Ingabire.
She advises secondary students who desire to join the school of medicine to work harder so that their dreams can come true.
Jean Claude Byiringiro, the University of Rwanda’s lecturer at the department of surgery and the Dean of the School of Medicine and Pharmacy, and Clinical Psychology said the White Coat Ceremony and Hippocratic Oath means open recruitment of students into the medical profession from theoretical studies to practical skills.
“Hippocratic Oath emphasizes that medical practitioners are personnel with high values and greater commitment. Again it awakes them to work professionally and according to professional values and ethics,” Jean Claude announced.
The Director General of the University Teaching Hospital of Butare and the representative of other Rwandan University Teaching Hospitals; University Teaching Hospital of Kigali (CHUK), Rwanda Military Hospital, University Teaching Hospital of Butare (CHUB), King Faisal Hospital and Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital Caraes Ndera. Ruhengeri, Kibungo, Rwamagana, Kabgayi, Kibogora, Kibagabaga, and Byumba of Dr. Sabin Nsanzimana, welcomed the students into the medical profession and reminded them to be disciplined to achieve more in life.
The white Coat Ceremony is a rite of passage for medical students which was first created by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation in 1993. A Hippocratic Oath is an Oath recited while a white coat is placed on each student’s shoulder and it is a sign of the student’s entrance into the medical profession.
By Pheneas Sebeza