Thirty-Eight (38) All Saints University students received white coats at a ceremony on Saturday 6th August

Thirty-Eight (38) All-Saints University students received ‘white coats’ at a ceremony on Saturday 6th August 2016. During her address at that ceremony at the University’s auditorium in Roseau, Foreign & CARICOM Affairs Minister, Senator Francine Baron told the students, that their primary purpose should not necessarily be economic gain, but rather service and love for humanity.
 
The white coat ceremony marked the end of the first four semesters of basic sciences, and the students now transition into the clinical phase of their medical degree. Senator Baron represented Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit who was out of state. She stated that the ceremony marked an educational milestone achievement for the students.
 
She said “I urge you to commit yourself to provide the best possible care to all patients, and in so doing, always maintain confidentiality, and professional integrity, and ensure adherence to high ethical principles. I further encourage you to take your responsibilities seriously, as this profession that you have chosen, places you in a position to directly impact the lives of so many human beings; and this noble and humane profession requires noble men and women, with good hearts and good intentions”.
 
Meanwhile, All Saint’s University Executive Dean, Dr Terrence Marcelle said, faculty members cloaking the students with white coats, signifies a “personal gift of faith and confidence” in their ability to continue the noble traditions of doctoring.
 
“It is as if the faculty is saying we have your backs, and we believe that you will succeed in the future. So I want to say to each and every one of you, wear your white coats with dignity and pride, knowing that the faculty believes in you, and have faith and hope in your future successes,” Dr Marcelle added.
 
All Saints University opened in Dominica in May 2006, with twenty-eight (28) students, but its enrollment now stands at six hundred and sixty (660), mainly international students.