Hundreds of family members and friends gathered at the Kelley Auditorium to witness the prestigious ceremony and support nursing students at this important milestone.
The white coat ceremony was very special to me as it was the first step towards something I’ve always looked forward to doing, which is being a nurse. It made me realize that all my hard work and dedication in class is going towards an amazing profession.
— Jessica Scanlon '21
Students from the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies traded their standard red and black scrubs for white coats when the school’s Class of 2021 officially marked its entrance into clinical practice at the annual White Coat Ceremony on Saturday, October 20.
Symbolic of their past studies, their present commitment, and their future careers, the "white coat" ceremony was previously reserved for medical students as a reminder of their commitment to patients and their promise to engage in patient-focused, humanistic care. But now that the tradition has expanded to include other healthcare fields, the meaning of the ceremony has doubled; for Fairfield students, the ceremony serves as both the starting point of their clinical practice and as a commemoration of the values they will carry with them as they set out into professional healthcare settings.
“It’s an honor to see our sophomore nursing students as they stand poised to begin the clinical practice portion of their nursing education,” stated Associate Dean and Associate Professor Audrey Beauvais, DNP, MSN, MBA, RN. “The White Coat Ceremony emphasizes humanistic, patient-centered care as well as the nurses’ responsibility to put the interest of the patients first from the beginning of clinical practice and throughout their careers.”
By all accounts, the ceremony in the Quick Center for the Arts was both joyous and moving. Students took an oath to live up to the high ideals of the Egan School and the nursing profession, and pledged to uphold their commitment to honesty, integrity and ethical practice, and to protect the welfare of their patients.
Jessica Scanlon ’21 offered that the ceremony was just the beginning of getting to live what she’s been dreaming of since her first day at Fairfield.
“The white coat ceremony was very special to me as it was the first step towards something I’ve always looked forward to doing, which is being a nurse. It made me realize that all my hard work and dedication in class is going towards an amazing profession. It was such a rewarding experience celebrating this special day with all my nursing friends I get to call family!"
