About 40 Cal State San Bernardino beginning nursing students received white coats and special lapel pins as rite of passage in their introduction to the nursing profession during the inaugural CSUSB White Coat ceremony on April 29.
The ceremony, in which the students also received a Humanism and Excellence lapel pin from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation, was held at the CSUSB Performing Arts Building Recital Hall at noon. An online slide show of the ceremony may be viewed at “CSUSB Nursing White Coat Pinning Ceremony.”
“The purpose of our inaugural CSUSB White Coat Ceremony is to introduce our beginning nursing students to the concept of compassion, humanism and excellence before they enter the nursing profession,” said Claudia Davis, an associate professor in the nursing department. “The guiding principle is if they understand what compassion is now, they will practice delivering compassionate, humanistic care as students and thus will continue to do so after they graduate.”
The ceremony keynote address was given by Joseph Morris, the executive officer of the California Board of Registered Nursing.
CSUSB President Tomás D. Morales, who welcomed the students and their families, as well as the faculty and dignitaries, said the ceremony is a visual confirmation of the decision each of the students has made to nursing.
“Becoming a nurse is a tremendous commitment, one that involves not only you but your family and friends. It’s a commitment of time, resources and, most of all, self,” Morales said. “There are many lessons ahead of you. Yet some of the essential qualities of being a great nurse can’t learned from a book or derived from any special technique. Love. Compassion. Respect. The ability to offer dignity to those who have been robbed of all they have, including hope. These are the things that make a nurse so valuable, and why they are in such high demand everywhere.”
The students took a ceremonial oath to deliver the best care to their patients, and that compassion and empathy must be the hallmark of their clinical practice.
The ceremony, and a similar event held at the CSUSB Palm Desert Campus in December, was made possible with a $1,000 grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to support the Gold-AACN White Coat Ceremony for Nursing.
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is a national organization that seeks to change the culture of healthcare education and practice in the U.S. Over the past 30 years the foundation has focused on making compassionate, collaborative, scientifically excellent care the Gold Standard of healthcare, and its innovative programs are accelerating the adoption of patient-centered care. For more information visit the Arnold P. Gold Foundation website.
Visit the CSUSB Nursing Program website for more information on the program.
For more information on Cal State San Bernardino, contact the university’s Office of Strategic Communication or call (909) 537-5007, and visit the CSUSB news site.
In the photo above: Beginning CSUSB nursing students received white coats and special lapel pins as rite of passage in their introduction to the nursing profession during the inaugural CSUSB White Coat ceremony on April 29. Photo: Rodrigo Pena