As part of a partnership between the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation (APGF), fifty nursing schools around the country will be receiving funding to host White Coat Ceremonies, emphasizing the importance of providing compassionate care among health care professionals. The collaboration between APGF and AACN was launched in 2013 as a ground-breaking development intended to promote humanistic, patient-centered care in future registered nurse generations.
White Coat Ceremonies have been conducted by medical schools for over 20 years, but the APGF-AACN initiative is the first effort to offer the ceremony to schools of nursing. Many health professions are starting to offer these “cloaking ceremonies” beyond medical and nursing schools including dentistry, pharmacy, and physician assistant programs. The goal of APGF and AACN is to reach students early in their professional development, spreading the message to them that compassion matters and ensuring all future healthcare providers view humanism as a foundation to their practice.
With the fifty new nursing schools being offered funding for White Coat Ceremonies by the APGF-AACN initiative, there are now 210 nursing school institutions in 46 states plus the District of Columbia that have received financial support and guidance to offer a White Coat Ceremony. A White Coat Ceremony traditionally consists of reciting an oath, an address by an eminent role model, and a reception for students and their invited guests. Students receive a pin at the ceremony to serve as a visual reminder of their oath and commitment to high quality care.
As health care becomes more interprofessional and team-driven, nurses, physicians, and other health providers must implement humanism into their practices as a way to elevate the patient care experience. For Dr. Juliann Sebastian, Chair of the AACN Board of Directors, white coat ceremonies highlight the role that compassion plays in providing patient-centered care and improving health outcomes.
To view a list of the 50 selected schools, visit the AACN website here.
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