The healing hand

The White Coat Ceremony was introduced by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation (http://www.humanism-in-medicine.org/index.php/programs_grants/gold_foundation_programs/white_coat_ceremony) at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 1993; it was established at the University of Iowa in 1995. The Gold Foundation is focused on making humanism a much higher priority among physicians, and medical students in particular, by reestablishing the notion of the caring physician. It includes several core attributes, "I.E., C.A.R.E.S.": Integrity, Excellence, Compassion, Altruism, Respect, Empathy, and Service. The White Coat Ceremony is but one of several programs run by the Foundation, which includes the Leonard Tow Humanism in Medicine Awards and the Gold Humanism Honor Society. In 2008, this journal introduced a "Humanities in Pathology" section. Since then, there have been relatively few articles published in this vein. What follows is a keynote address delivered at the White Coat Ceremony at The University of Iowa on August 19, 2011. At their core, pathologists are physicians, and we must not lose sight of our humanity!