UMass Chan’s Doctor of Nursing practice students called on to be a ‘healing presence’

The Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing at UMass Chan Medical School presented 55 Doctor of Nursing Practice students with their white coats on Tuesday, Sept. 9, in a celebration recognizing their transition into clinical practice. 

Family members, guests and UMass Chan faculty members were on hand to watch the second-year students receive and don their white coats and recite the Nightingale Pledge in unison in the Albert Sherman Center auditorium. 

Joan Vitello-Cicciu, PhD, the Donna M. and Robert J. Manning Chair in Nursing, dean of the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing and professor of nursing, encouraged the future nurse practitioners to be a healing presence to their patients through listening, empathy and partnership.  

“Your white coat is a symbol of trust, accountability, and knowledge and skills that you have worked so hard to achieve, but also something even more profound—the opportunity to embody a healing presence,” Dean Vitello said. “For it is in these acts—not always grand or dramatic, but intentional and compassionate—that you will make the greatest difference.” 

DNP third-year students Leah Kachadorian and Nick McElroy led the Class of 2027 in the nursing pledge and addressed the meaning of receiving a white coat. 

“The white coat, with its symbolism of humanism, collaboration and scientific excellence parallels our understanding of nursing science, principles and values, as well as our mission at this university,” Kachadorian said. 

Before presenting white coats to the Doctor of Nursing Practice students, Jill Terrien, PhD’07, MS’97, ANP-BC, associate professor of nursing and associate dean of interprofessional and community partnerships for the Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing, said, “This will be a journey of transformative growth, of advancing and broadening your nursing foundation. This rite of passage, as other important rituals you have experienced, such as pinning, or will in the future, graduation, are ways we recognize and celebrate transition to new experiences or roles and help us intentionally focus on the transformation ahead.” 

The White Coat Ceremony was started in 1993 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to welcome students to health care practice and elevate the value of humanism as the core of health care. The ceremony has since been adopted by medical schools across the globe. In 2014, nursing schools worldwide began taking part in the ceremony. 

The Tan Chingfen Graduate School of Nursing began participating in the White Coat Ceremony in 2022. 

DNP students who received their white coats