Christina DiCarlo of Covington, received her white coat at the Physician Assistant Program Class of 2013 White Coat Ceremony at Lincoln Memorial University-DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine in Harrogate, Tenn., on June 30.

DiCarlo is a second-year physician assistant student at LMU-DCOM. The first White Coat Ceremony was held in 1993 at Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons and is now a standard ritual in physician assistant programs as well as allopathic and osteopathic medical schools across the country. The White Coat Ceremony is an important, public demonstration of a student's commitment to patient care and professionalism. During the ceremony, each physician assistant student is presented and "robed" with his or her short white laboratory coat. The ceremony is considered to be a rite of passage, in that an individual has demonstrated the qualities and abilities to provide competent care and can move on to the next phase of his or her training.

The DeBusk College of Osteopathic Medicine is an integral part of LMU's values-based learning community and is dedicated to preparing the next generation of health care professionals to provide health care in the often underserved region of Appalachia and beyond.
For more information about LMU-DCOM, call (800) 325-0900, ext. 7082, email dcom@lmunet.edu, or visit lmunet.edu/dcom.