COLUMBUS, OH — On Sunday, January 12, 2020, Mount Carmel College of Nursing (MCCN) celebrated its inaugural Gold-AACN White Coat Ceremony for Nursing. This ceremony was made possible with a grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to support the Gold-American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) White Coat Ceremony for Nursing.
The White Coat Ceremony signified a rite of passage for sophomore students and emphasized the importance of compassionate patient care at the start of training. The White Coat Ceremony is meant to reinforce the importance of a human connection as students begin their journey in health care.
MCCN celebrated its first White Coat Ceremony this year with traditional baccalaureate students from the Columbus and Lancaster campuses, along with 2020 Second Degree Accelerated Program Cohort students. Students recited the Oath to Compassionate Patient Care and as a part of the ceremony came forward to be “cloaked” before family and friends in the iconic white coat that signifies their status as health professionals. The ceremony was held at First Church of God at 3480 Refugee Road in Columbus beginning at 3 p.m.
The White Coat Ceremony represents a milestone for nursing students as they transition from academic to clinical studies, their journey with direct patient care. Students officially donned the
MCCN clinical uniform for the first time and received two pins: one engraved with a lamp reminiscent of the lamp carried by the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation pin inscribed “Keeping Healthcare Human.”
The White Coat Ceremony was initiated in 1993 at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons by Arnold P. Gold, MD, who was a professor and pediatric neurologist. Dr. Gold, a passionate advocate for humanistic health care, believed that the oath taken by new physicians at the end of medical school came too late. Through the nonprofit organization that he and his wife, Dr. Sandra Gold started, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation has expanded the White Coat Ceremony around the globe.