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WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Arnold P. Gold Foundation (APGF) and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) recently announced that 50 schools of nursing across the nation were selected to receive funding support to host White Coat Ceremonies, which emphasize the importance of providing compassionate care among health professionals. Launched in 2013, this ground-breaking collaboration between APGF and AACN was developed to promote humanistic, patient-centered care among future generations of registered nurses. Delta State University’s Robert E. Smith School of Nursing was one of the 50 schools selected to host the ceremony and the only nursing school in Mississippi to receive this designation. “By reaching students early in their professional formation with the message that compassion matters, our goal is to ensure that all future healthcare providers see humanism as foundational to their practice,” said Dr. Richard Levin, president and CEO of APGF. “We remain so grateful to the Elaine and Mike Adler family for their enabling support of this crucial collaboration. We are delighted to continue our collaboration with AACN this year, which expands the universe of nursing schools offering White Coat Ceremonies to 210 institutions nationwide.” Though White Coat Ceremonies have been conducted by medical schools for more than 20 years, the APGF-AACN initiative marks the first time a coordinated effort has been developed to offer similar events at schools of nursing. Nursing joins the growing number of health professions that offer “cloaking” ceremonies, including dentistry, pharmacy, physical therapy, and physician assistants among other disciplines. To date, 160 nursing schools in 46 states plus the District of Columbia have received financial support and guidance to offer a White Coat Ceremony, which typically consists of the recitation of an oath, an address by an eminent role model, and a reception for students and invited guests. Students are also given a specially designed pin that serves as a visual reminder of their oath and commitment to providing high quality care. View the listing of schools selected to participate this year. “White Coat Ceremonies highlight the important role compassion plays in providing patient-centered care and improving health outcomes,” said Dr. Juliann Sebastian, chair of the AACN board of directors. “With health care becoming more interprofessional and team-driven, nurses, physicians and other providers must embed humanism in their practice as a way to elevate the patient care experience.” To learn more about nursing opporunitities at Delta State’s RESSON, visit http://www.deltastate.edu/school-of-nursing. |
