A new tradition began for nursing students at Mercy College of Health Sciences earlier this month. For the first time, the School of Nursing’s incoming class simultaneously donned white coats, a rite of passage that welcomes new nursing students into medical professions. 

More than 80 Bachelor of Science in Nursing candidates in the Class of 2019 participated in the ceremony that was conducted Nov. 10 at St. Ambrose Cathedral in downtown Des Moines. Mercy College is among 50 schools — and the only Iowa institution — that received funding this year from the American Association of Colleges of Nursing and the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to host a white coat ceremony. Launched in 2013, the collaboration has enabled 260 schools of nursing in 48 states to offer the ceremony, which is designed to instill a commitment to providing compassionate care among the next generation of registered nurses.

Though white coat ceremonies have been conducted by medical schools for more than 20 years, this initiative marks the first time a coordinated effort has been developed to offer similar events at nursing schools. 

For future classes, the cost of the coats will be incorporated into BSN students’ tuition, said Jim Tagye, Mercy College’s director of marketing communications. And yes, the nurses do get to keep the coats, which they’ll wear during their clinical rotations at medical facilities.