Tradition and transition: MS in nursing students don their white coats

Marking a significant milestone in their academic journeys, 64 Master of Science in Nursing students received their white coats at the Rita & Larry Salva School of Nursing & Health Professions White Coat Ceremony. The traditional ceremony marks their transition into clinical practice and represents the first step in serving patients in specialized fields. 

On August 13, the students and their guests gathered in Pfleeger Concert Hall for the ceremony that symbolizes the transition to clinical rotations for students who will complete 750 hours of training over the next three semesters in hospitals, clinics and health care facilities throughout the region. This year, students are embarking on a diverse range of professional tracks, including Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner, Family Nurse Practitioner, Psychiatric Mental Health Practitioner, Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGs), Family Nurse Practitioner Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGs), and Psychiatric Mental Health Practitioner Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGs). 

Dean Peter Rattigan, Ph.D., welcomed the students and their families, emphasizing the significance of this step in their professional journey. The students also heard from Rowan University Chancellor Tony Lowman and Nursing Department Head Mary Ellen Santucci.  

The presentation of white coats was conducted by the program coordinators: Dr. Melissa Mordecai, the coordinator of the Adult Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program; Dr. Dorothy Iannaco (filling in for Dr. Kaspar the coordinator of the Family Nurse Practitioner Program), and Dr. Tyreasea Johnson-Mason (filling in for Dr. White the coordinator of the Psychiatric Mental Health Practitioner Program). Each student was called individually to the stage to receive their lab coat, embroidered with their name and the school’s logo. 

The students each received a leather-bound journal, pen, lunch cooler, and lanyard. 

The Rita & Larry Salva School of Nursing & Health Professions is one of three schools within the Virtua Health College of Medicine & Life Sciences at Rowan University, alongside the Rowan-Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine and Rowan-Virtua School of Translational Biomedical Engineering & Sciences. 

The tradition of the White Coat Ceremony was initiated in 1993 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation at Columbia University, with a focus on the role of humanism in medicine. Originally associated with medical schools, the ceremony has since expanded to include other health professions, including nursing. The American Association of Colleges of Nursing partnered with the Gold Foundation in 2014 to introduce White Coat ceremonies at nursing schools nationwide.