Buies Creek, NC-The Doctor of Pharmacy class of 2014 took the first step to becoming pharmacists during the tradition-honored White Coat Ceremony at Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences (CPHS) on August 8 in Turner Auditorium. One hundred and eight new students were presented with a white coat symbolizing their entry into the pharmacy profession.
“The white coat signifies your obligation and responsibility as a health care professional,” Dean Ronald Maddox, Pharm.D., said to the class of 2014. “It symbolizes professionalism, integrity, high standards, empathy, passion and humanness. As you accept this coat it is important that you make a commitment to embrace these traits during your pharmacy education and into your future practice as a pharmacist.”
Selected from more than 1,500 applicants, the new pharmacy students have successfully navigated a rigorous application process based on strong academic records, interviews and practical experience.
Keynote speaker, Steve Kearney, Pharm.D., president of the Alumni Association, shared the significance of three items the students received during the ceremony: the white coat, an orange and black CPHS patch adorning the coat and a name tag students will wear with the coat to identify them as Doctor of Pharmacy candidates.
“When you put on this coat, you go from someone who receives care to someone who provides care,” said Kearney as he addressed the magnitude of the coat students will wear during their clinical studies.
Kearneyexplained the legacy of the bright orange patch. That it represents the vision of the Campbell pharmacy program to train servant leaders and incorporate values into direct patient care and how this vision has produced reputable students and pharmacists. The name tag symbolizes the transition ahead. Through educational training and personal growth, students can look forward to the day when they will no longer be a candidate, but instead a pharmacist.
“I challenge each of you to put on your new coat with the patch and nametag and look at yourself in the mirror and ask ‘what will I do every day that I am a part of this program to uphold this legacy and what will I do when I think it is the most difficult day of my life to impact patient care?’” said Kearney. “I know you can do it because your past successes indicate your future successes.”
Kearneyis a 1994 graduate of CPHS. He currently serves as a Medical Outcomes Specialist with Pfizer Global Medical and maintains a faculty appointment in the School of Pharmacy at the University ofNorth Carolina at Chapel Hill.
CampbellUniversity College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences was established in 1985 as the first new school of pharmacy to open in the United States in 35 years. In addition to offering the Doctor of Pharmacy program, the college offers undergraduate and graduate programs in Clinical Research and Pharmaceutical Sciences. In 2009, the name was formally changed from the School of Pharmacy to the College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences to provide additional health science programs, including the newly established Physician Assistant program, slated to enroll its first class in fall 2011.
Photo Copy: Emily Bradham shakes hands with Ronald Maddox, Pharm.D., dean of the Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, after receiving her white coat. (Photo by Bennett Scarborough)