New Doctor of Pharmacy Students Welcomed to Campus and the Profession

The Daniel K. Inouye College of Pharmacy (DKICP) welcomed 23 first-year Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) students to its Hilo campus. The students spent an action packed first week on campus meeting faculty and staff, getting to know each other and upperclassmen in the college, touring the campus, learning more about pharmacy student organizations, and beginning to immerse themselves in their new lives as future health professionals.

Orientation week for the incoming students culminated with the White Coat Ceremony, in which they were officially welcomed to the profession of pharmacy. Dr. Chaz Barit, an alumnus of the DKICP PharmD Class of 2012, served as the keynote speaker for the event. Dr. Barit is the Associate Chief of Pharmacy at the Veterans Administration (VA) Pacific Islands Health Care System and over the years, has immersed himself in both clinical and operations responsibilities as a pharmacist. Some of the most advanced and innovative roles for pharmacists, including full provider status, are implemented in the VA system providing a glimpse of what the future of pharmacy holds.

Walgreens once again sponsored the White Coat Ceremony and representatives participated in the coating portion of the program. The students recited the Oath of the Pharmacist as a public commitment to the life-long responsibilities of pharmacists in the presence of families, friends, teachers, and mentors.