White Coat 2019

Ceremony ushers in a new class of ethically-minded professionals

Avery Donkin-Verschuren, new to the DDS Class of 2023, stood before the giant fireplace in Hart House’s great hall. On either side stood her parents, Alexandra Donkin and Rex Verschuren. The family was excited to be there. Donkin-Verschuren’s parents had not visited Hart House since their wedding reception in 1989, the day after her mother’s graduation from U of T’s law program (her father graduated from U of T Medicine in 1987). Donkin-Verschuren could have taken her DDS degree anywhere — she had been accepted to other dental schools — but here, where her parents celebrated an important commitment and milestone, is where she decided to take her own oath.

View a photo gallery of the event.

Before the dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, Daniel Haas, director of student life Richard Rayman, and honorary speakers Kim Hansen from the Ontario Dental Association, Benjamin Lin from the Royal College of Dental Surgeons Ontario and Brenda Thomson from the Ontario division of the American College of Dentists, Donkin-Verschuren and her classmates solemnly vowed to always put their patients first.

For many, White Coat is a rite of passage as important as convocation or licensing. “I think I got way more from it this time around,” said Linaea Halpert, O-Week organizer and student volunteer. Halpert and her fellow second-year volunteers stayed to witness their new peers take their oath. And they weren’t the only ones: like so many of the ceremonies, this year’s event was a family affair. Surrounded by excited parents, spouses and children — Andrew Leung attended with his father, a U of T grad, and his mother, who works at the University — the oath is sworn not just before officials, but before family.

“It’s really moving,” Halpert added.

“We didn’t have this when I was a student,” said Lin, who is vice president of the RCDSO and a graduate from the class of 2003. Lin has been a part time instructor at the Faculty since 2008.

But if teaching students the technical skills to care for their patients is vital, so too is developing their personal ethics of practice. “Trust and credibility are at the core of your work,” Lin told students during the August 27 ceremony’s opening remarks.

A second White Coat ceremony will be held in February for students entering IDAPP.

Photos: Top to bottom: DDS 2023 student, Avery Donkin-Verschuren with family; Andrew Leung with family, courtesy Jeff Comber and Marisa Curmi