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First Division White Coat Ceremony

The Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy hosted an inaugural White Coat Ceremony at the Pappas Quad on USC’s Health Sciences Campus on August 26th.

By Kimberly Perring

Before faculty, administrators, family, and friends, more than 200 occupational therapy graduate students donned their new white coats, a traditional symbol of professional responsibility in health care.

In her remarks to the students, USC Associate Dean and Division Chair Florence Clark described the white coat as a “symbol for an emergence into professional life, for the sacred contracts you will hold with your clients, and for the requirements of ethical practice.” Clark asked students to “fulfill the ethical obligations placed upon you, live up to your potential as excellent clinicians, and treat with the heart and soul of a healer.”

Because the Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy is housed within the Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry of USC, Ostrow Dean Avishai Sadan offered the keynote address. He congratulated the students and challenged them to fulfill the expectations that come with being an occupational therapist at USC. Together, the student body recited the Oath of an Occupational Therapist, a pledge that includes a commitment to “model and foster leadership, and facilitate spiritual, personal, and professional growth in myself, my profession, and in others.”

Photos from the White Coat Ceremony
August 26, 2011

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USC Chan Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
1540 Alcazar Street, CHP 133, Los Angeles, CA 90089-9003

ACOTE accreditation | NBCOT certification

The USC entry-level master’s degree program (cost of attendance) is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education® (ACOTE®) of the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA). The USC entry-level doctorate in occupational therapy (OTD) degree program (cost of attendance) is accredited by ACOTE®. View our program’s ACOTE® standards public data. ACOTE® c/o the American Occupational Therapy Association, Inc.®, 7501 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 510E, Bethesda, MD 20814, (301) 652-AOTA, www.acoteonline.org.

Professional program graduates are eligible to apply for the national certification examination administered by the National Board for Certification in Occupational Therapy, Inc.® (NBCOT®), nbcot.org. All states require licensure to practice; a felony conviction may affect a graduate’s ability to sit for the NBCOT® OTR certification examination or attain state licensure. Program results from the NBCOT® can be found online at www.nbcot.org/Educators-Folder/SchoolPerformance.