During the third White Coat Ceremony for the School of Medical Sciences and School of Dentistry at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Dean Prof. Akwasi Antwi‑Kusi called on students to place compassion and empathy at the heart of patient care, alongside professional competence.
He noted that patients often encounter practitioners at vulnerable moments, making effective communication, understanding and reassurance essential to quality health care. “Never let competence replace compassion,” he said, stressing that medical knowledge alone is insufficient to deliver effective care.
Prof. Antwi‑Kusi urged students to ask themselves, “If this were my father, how would I want him treated?” and to treat every patient as though they were a relative. He added that medicine is not only about diagnosis and treatment but also about how patients and their families feel, and that empathy is a form of professionalism, not weakness.
The dean’s message came amid a theme of “Embracing the White Coat: A Commitment to Compassion, Integrity and Excellence in Patient Care,” encouraging future practitioners to consider how their attitudes and interactions shape patients’ experiences.
Students were challenged to integrate these values into their practice, recognizing that the most powerful medicine can sometimes be a simple acknowledgment of a patient’s fear and a clear explanation of what is happening.
