White Coat Ceremony ushers MC School of Nursing students into ‘legacy of healing, hope’

First-semester students in the School of Nursing at Mississippi College will mark their entrance into clinical practice by participating in the school’s White Coat Ceremony, scheduled for 5 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 8, in Anderson Hall in the B.C. Rogers Student Center.

The coats are emblematic of those who have met all of the requirements to become nursing students and are eligible to celebrate their entrance into patient care.

The ceremony represents a major milestone in the nursing students’ careers, according to Kelly Harden, dean of the MC School of Nursing.

“In receiving the white coat, students are not just entering clinical training,” Harden said, “they are entering a legacy of healing and hope in the ministry of nursing.”

The White Coat Ceremony is esteemed in nursing as a powerful reminder of the trust placed in future nurses and the sacred responsibility they have to provide compassionate, competent care to all patients.

By participating in the White Coat Ceremony, School of Nursing students promise to uphold the standards of professional nursing practice with pride and diligence and to work with others in mutual cooperation for the improvement of healthcare services.

Gaye Ragland, an assistant professor of nursing at the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, will serve as guest speaker at the ceremony. Ragland has taught master’s and undergraduate degree programs at the UMMC School of Nursing and has also served as a legal nursing consultant.

Following Ragland’s address, participants will ascend to the stage in pairs to receive their coats. The students and all healthcare professionals in attendance will then receive a “Blessing of the Hands,” asking for God’s protection, guidance and wisdom as the students move into the profession of nursing.

Following the blessing, the students will receive a pocket-sized New Testament from the Gideons International as a reminder of their call to Christian caring. Then, first-semester students will collectively recite the MC School of Nursing creed.

Taylor Martin, instructor and chair of undergraduate programs in the MC School of Nursing, said the ceremony emphasizes the integration of compassionate care, scientific excellence and Christian faith into the nursing students’ careers.

“In a meaningful tradition, members of the graduating semester four cohort will cloak the incoming semester one students, symbolizing the passing of knowledge, skill and dedication,” Martin said. “Through the cloaking, the Blessing of the Hands and the presentation of a Gideon Bible, students are reminded of their sacred calling to serve with skill, integrity and compassion.”

All family and friends of first-semester School of Nursing students are invited to the ceremony. For more information, email Callie Tate at ctate@mc.edu.