SLU School of Nursing Holds White Coat Ceremony for Class of 2027
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.
Saint Louis University’s Trudy Busch Valentine School of Nursing anticipate their White Coat Ceremony held on Friday, Sept. 27, at St. Francis Xavier College Church. Submitted photo by Jalen Lee.
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.
Valentine School of Nursing students celebrate at SLU's Busch Student Center during a White Coat Ceremony reception on Friday, Sept. 27. Photo by Jalen Lee.
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.
Latest Newslink
- SLU President Tells Class of 2025 to Enjoy the JourneySaint Louis University President Fred P. Pestello, Ph.D., never planned on a career in higher education. During his commencement address Saturday morning in front of a packed crowd at Chaifetz Arena, Pestello said that when he was the one graduating from college 51 years ago, he wanted to be a radio host. Along the way, things changed, and he ended up having a lengthy career in education. As he prepares to step down as SLU's 33rd president at the end of June, he told the Class of 2025 about how his plans changed early and often.
- SLU Vaccine Center Will Enroll Healthy Volunteers in West Nile Virus Clinical TrialSaint Louis University's Center for Vaccine Development will enroll up to 30 adult volunteers in a clinical trial to study the safety and immune response elicited by a new investigational vaccine for West Nile virus. Currently, there is no approved vaccine or treatment for illness caused by West Nile virus. A previous study of an earlier version of this vaccine showed the vaccine was safe and well-tolerated. Building on these findings, this new study will assess an updated version of the vaccine.
- SLU Doctoral Student and Augustinian Friar Shares Memories of Time Spent with Pope Leo XIVWhen Cardinal Robert Prevost stepped out onto the balcony in St. Peter’s Square as Pope Leo XIV on Thursday, Saint Louis University doctoral student Fr. Jack Tierney O.S.A. cheered along with the rest of the world’s Catholics. Tierney is a member of the Midwest Augustinians, the same religious Order that produced Pope Leo XIV. Their paths frequently crossed as brother friars.
- SLU's Flying Billikens Taking Off for 2025 National Intercollegiate Flying CompetitionA team of aviation science students from Saint Louis University's School of Science and Engineering are heading to Oshkosh, Wisconsin this weekend for the 2025 National Intercollegiate Flying Association Competition.
- Lawrence F. Barmann, Ph.D.: 1932-2025Lawrence Francis Barmann, Ph.D., emeritus professor of American Studies, died April 25, 2025. He was 92.
- Patricia L. Monteleone, M.D.: 1935-2025Patricia L. Monteleone, M.D., dean emerita of the Saint Louis University School of Medicine, died Sunday, May 4, 2025. She was 89. A true trailblazer, Monteleone was the first female dean of Saint Louis University School of Medicine.
