2022 USC-PKUHSC Dual-Degree Program White Coat Ceremony and Welcome Ceremony
March 7, 2022
The USC-PKUHSC Master’s-Doctorate Program in Occupational Therapy 2022 White Coat Ceremony and Welcome Ceremony celebrate the entrance into the occupational profession for the second and third cohorts of dual-degree students.
Academics and Courses China Initiative Community and Partners Students
The USC-PKUHSC Dual-Degree Master’s-Doctorate Program in Occupational Therapy 2022 White Coat Ceremony and Welcome Ceremony served to recognize and celebrate the second and third cohorts of PKUHSC occupational therapy master’s students, as well as to formally mark their entrance into the occupational profession. This event was held virtually to accommodate colleagues from both USC Chan and PKUHSC.
USC Chan and PKUHSC celebrating the White Coat Ceremony virtually. In attendance: PKUHSC faculty members and instructors, Cohort 2 and 3 dual-degree students, the China Initiative team (Dr. Julie McLaughlin Gray, Dr. Elena Meng, OTD residents Christopher Chu and Calvin Lee), Dr. Sarah Bream, Cohort 1 students, and current PhD student Buwen Yao.
This event started with remarks from USC Chan Associate Dean and Chair, Dr. Grace Baranek; Dr. Julie McLaughlin Gray, Associate Chair for Curriculum and Faculty; and Dr. Sarah Bream, Director of the Post-Professional Occupational Therapy Doctorate (OTD) program. Dr. Baranek gave a warm welcome to everyone in attendance and expressed her gratitude to all faculty, colleagues, and students as they joined together as one united community to recognize and celebrate the second and third cohorts of PKUHSC master’s students.
“I would also like to offer our sincerest appreciation to our PKUHSC colleagues for our continued, thriving collaboration, especially throughout these past couple of years during the pandemic. In spite of tremendous disruption, we were still all able to triumph and arrive at this extraordinary day,” said Grace Baranek, USC Chan Associate Dean, Chair, and Mrs. T.H. Chan Professor of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy.
Dr. Julie McLaughlin Gray, Director of the China Initiative, also gave welcoming remarks followed by an overview of the China Initiative partnership, team introductions, affiliations, and meaning behind the USC-PKUHSC Dual Degree Program.
Dr. Sarah Bream, Associate Chair of Academic and Community Program Support, then shared her welcoming remarks along with an overview of the post-professional occupational therapy doctorate program, including what current and future residents will experience in the program such as curriculum, residencies, mentorship, and portfolio.
PKUHSC faculty provided brief presentations of the accomplishments and ongoing projects related to the dual-degree program resulting from the collaborative effort between colleagues at USC Chan and PKUHSC. Faculty mentors to the dual-degree students also shared encouraging messages for their success in the program. The PKUHSC second and third cohorts of occupational therapy master’s students then introduced themselves and recited the Oath of an Occupational Therapist to officially mark their entrance into the occupational therapy profession.
PKUHSC dual-degree students reciting the Oath of an Occupational Therapist, led by one of their instructors, Dr. Hui (Angela) Wang.
PKUHSC Cohort 3 students with their professors at the 2022 White Coat Ceremony.
Dr. Baranek encouraged the students to celebrate this chapter in their lives and enjoy this unforgettable milestone. She summarized USC Chan’s pride in these pioneering occupational therapy practitioners: “We are confident that you will carry on the tradition of excellence in occupational therapy and occupational science, and we look forward to watching you grow as future leaders and visionaries of the profession”.
⋯
