Published on March 7, 2017 by Sarah Waller  
Nursing white coat

by Olivia Odom

Samford University’s Ida Moffett School of Nursing honored 38 students during a White Coat Ceremony Feb. 27 in Brock Recital Hall. The ceremony symbolizes nursing students entering clinical nursing and serves as a reminder of their commitment to provide compassionate care to each of their patients. 

Associate dean and professor Margie Findlay spoke to the students about compassionate care and Ida Moffett’s nursing legacy. Findlay has been a part of the nursing school for 15 years. “Today’s ceremony is designed to affirm that compassionate care and placing the needs of a patient first begins on day one and continues throughout the nurse’s career,” said Findlay. 

Students are trained not only in the science and knowledge of nursing, but in the art of nursing. The students follow after Moffett in the way they care and love their patients. Findlay cited the cornerstone of Ida Moffett School of Nursing as care and compassion with the goal of providing quality nursing care. “Students, it is now your turn to carry forth Mrs. Moffett’s ideals, her passion, her vision and her leadership as you care for those in need,” she said.

Findlay encouraged students to remember technology is only a tool. She added that human touch and care is essential in patient care and recovery. “The desire for compassionate caring has never changed and never will,” said Findlay.

The ceremony included the presentation of white coats by faculty and staff members Brandy Mobley, Amber Patrick, Ashley Turner and Cindy Ritter cloaked the students. Nursing students also participated in leading the ceremony. Arielle Ellis read scripture, and Mary Claire Patterson led the group in prayer. Assistant professor Moniaree Jones led the students in the nursing poem.

The students were also given a pin provided by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation. Along with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing, the foundation chose 100 nursing schools from 43 states to serve as a pilot study for hosting a white coat ceremony for nursing. Samford University’s Ida Moffett School of Nursing was one of the honorary selections.

The white coat ceremony takes place twice a year, in the spring and fall. 

Olivia Odom is a journalism and mass communication major and a news and feature writer in the College of Health Sciences.

 
Samford is a leading Christian university offering undergraduate programs grounded in the liberal arts with an array of nationally recognized graduate and professional schools. Founded in 1841, Samford is the 87th-oldest institution of higher learning in the United States. Samford enrolls 6,101 students from 45 states, Puerto Rico and 16 countries in its 10 academic schools: arts, arts and sciences, business, divinity, education, health professions, law, nursing, pharmacy and public health. Samford fields 17 athletic teams that compete in the tradition-rich Southern Conference and ranks 6th nationally for its Graduation Success Rate among all NCAA Division I schools.