The Department of Nursing welcomed second-year undergraduate nursing students and new members of the direct-entry graduate program to the nursing profession with its annual white coat ceremony on Oct. 7 in Ira Allen Chapel. The event marks the formal entry into clinical experience for University of Vermont nursing students.
Department Chair Rosemary Dale greeted the 123 undergraduate and 23 graduate students and their families and explained the white coat’s significance in health care as the symbol of a promise to heal and to care. She then introduced guest speaker Jacqueline S. Dowling, the 2022 recipient of the University of Vermont’s Janet T. Austin Nursing Alumnus Award.
Dowling, professor emerita of the Solomont School of Nursing at the University of Massachusetts – Lowell, shared anecdotes from her decades-long nursing career and encouraged the students to look forward to the personal satisfaction they’ll experience knowing they’ve made a difference in the lives of their patients.
Dowling's words expressed a passion that calls many to the nursing profession. The opportunity to work one-on-one with patients and leave a positive impression on their health is one that Jake Lenahan '25, of Trumbull, CT, said he looks forward to in his future career.
"I genuinely believe that this can improve the quality of life for patients I interact with," Lenahan said.
Following Dowling’s remarks, each student received a white coat with a message of encouragement written by a UVM Nursing alum tucked into the pocket. At the end of the ceremony, the future nurses recited the “White Coat Ceremony Oath,” a pledge to accept the duties and responsibilities of the nursing profession - to act with compassion, exercise sound professional judgment, and protect the health, safety, and rights of patients.
Both the United States and Vermont currently face a critical health care workforce shortage. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic began, it was estimated that Vermont needed to add approximately 9,000 nurses to the state’s workforce in the next seven years and provide 50 additional full-time nursing instructors.
The College of Nursing and Health Sciences Class of 2026 - which includes 154 nursing students next up to receive their white coats in fall 2023 – is 280 members strong, and the largest incoming class in College history. It’s also among the University's highest-achieving incoming class, with the greatest number of students who identify as students of color, first-generation students, and students who come from outside of New England.