10/04/2024

Saint Louis University’s Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing hosted its White Coat Ceremony, a rite of passage for students as they begin their clinical training and progress toward becoming baccalaureate nurses. 

“May you live out your role as professional nurses with integrity, intelligence, caring, and courage and serve as men and women for all,” said Kristine L'Ecuyer, Ph.D., interim dean at the Valentine School of Nursing. 

The ceremony was held on Friday, Sept. 27, at St. Francis Xavier College Church. The keynote speech was given by Patricia Miller, Ph.D., chief nursing officer at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital, where many SLU nursing students will complete their clinicals. 

Miller is an experienced health care executive with more than 20 years of senior management experience at hospitals around the country. In her introduction, L'Ecuyer described Miller as “an insightful planner” who “demonstrates multifaceted leadership skills and ability to implement organizational improvements and enhance patient care outcomes through physician-nurse partnerships.” Miller is also respected for her keen ability to inspire others to perform. 

“Know that there will be times that you may fail but look at them in a different way. Fail simply means ‘First attempt in learning.’ Take risks. Never give up. If you do these things, the next generation and the generations that follow will live in a world that is better than the one we live in today,” Miller said to the audience. 

SLU nursing faculty coated 121 students during the ceremony before family and friends in the iconic white coat that signifies their status as health care professionals. Their hands were anointed with sacred oil and a prayer that they “may be a blessing to all they encounter.” Students recited the health profession’s covenant, publicly affirming their intention to providing humanistic patient care.

In 2014, recognizing the vital role nurses play in the health care team, the Gold Foundation partnered with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to adopt a White Coat Ceremony for Nursing. More than 450 schools of nursing have participated, and the number continues to grow. The Gold Foundation champions the human connection in health care. The foundation engages schools and their students, health systems, companies, and individual clinicians in the joy and meaning of humanistic healthcare, so that patients and their families can be partners in collaborative, compassionate and scientifically excellent care. 

For more information about the White Coat Ceremony and the Gold Foundation, visit www.gold-foundation.org.