Audiology, Speech Pathology Students Don ‘Cloaks of Compassion’ at White Coat Ceremony
| New students in the UAMS College of Health Professions Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology on Aug. 19 marked the formal beginning of the next phase of their academic lives by putting on their white coats.
Greg Robinson delivers opening remarks after the start of the Aug. 19 White Coat Ceremony.Image by Evan Lewis
At the department’s White Coat Ceremony, each student walked onto the stage and two faculty members held up the coats as they slipped their arms into the sleeves for the first time. Eight of the students at the gathering are studying for a degree in the Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) program, and 24 are in the Master of Science (M.S.) in Communications Sciences in Disorders, speech-language pathology program.
Gregory Robinson, Ph.D., a member of the department’s faculty and director of the Ph.D. program said, “Today, we give our students an important symbol of the work they are embarking upon, the white coat, or as it was called at the first ever white coat ceremony in 1993, the cloak of compassion. I love that.”
If the students find a balance between their professional and personal lives, then they will find fulfillment from both, said Dana Moser, Ph.D., director of the Speech-Language Pathology program.
“As speech-language pathologists, you will be a part of a profession that impacts health, well-being, quality of life and life participation for many individuals,” she said. “As such, you will abide by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s code of ethics as a self-governed and self-disciplined professional.”
Moser said the white coat is a rite of passage in which the students are committing themselves to a transformation into professionals. Most of their university experiences before were as students, but wearing the white coat means they are now graduate clinicians, a journey that is not so much about grades as acquiring understanding and skills, she said.
Shana Williamson, right, and Barbara Jones, left, assist a student in putting on her white coat for the first time.Image by Evan Lewis
“Today’s ceremony isn’t about the coat,” said College of Health Professions Dean Susan Long, Ed.D. “It’s about you. More specifically, it’s about the person you become when you wear that simple garment. It’s also about the person you become in the eyes of the people you have chosen to serve.”
“Only you can determine what type of professional you will become,” said Natalie Benafield, Au.D., director of the audiology program. “Be curious. Make mistakes. We all do. Allow yourself to become excited about a new topic, a new clinical setting or a new type of patient. Of course, you will have to study hard and take risks to apply that knowledge. You also need to remember to eat well, rest and play, relax, serve others and make friends.”
Doctor of Audiology (Au.D.) Audiology Program, Class of 2026
- Mason Cohn
- Kyrsee Duran-Moelter
- Emily McMaster
- Erica Minyard
- Aayushi Patel
- Brooklyn Schultes
- Jordan Scribner
- Stephanie Stroupe
Master of Science (M.S.) in Communications Sciences in Disorders, Speech-Language Pathology Program, Class of 2024
- Colette Bryant
- Alexa Chiolino
- Maha Daifallah
- Sydney Donaldson
- Chloe Draper
- Hannah Freeman
- Emily Hahn
- Cassie Johnson
- Stacy Muck
- Ashley Piechocki
- Kendall Prevoznik
- Sarah Rosin
- Suzanne Schwander
- Marzetta Scott
- Lacey Simpson
- Avery Smith
- Blair Stewart
- Ashley Sutton
- Haley Thrash
- Sierra Turner
- Courtney West
- Mallory Wine
- Sydney Wray
- Yeager
Students recite ‘A Clinician’s Oath’ before the conclusion of the White Coat Ceremony.Image by Evan Lewis