Fifth Annual White Coat Ceremony

SLU-Madrid nursing students celebrated their transition from the classroom to clinical practice at the fifth annual White Coat Ceremony.

Nursing Professor Heather Sañudo, M.S.N., presented each student with a white lab coat, a symbol of the health care profession. The act confirmed the students' commitment to the noble profession of nursing and to the mission of the School of Nursing: promoting quality health care of individuals, families and communities to alleviate ignorance, poverty, injustice and hunger.

Margaret Bultas, associate professor and coordinator of the traditional B.S.N. program at Saint Louis University School of Nursing, delivered the keynote speech.

“Most of the time the interactions are small and not meaningful to others, but they are meaningful to patients and their families, " she said. "These small things make a big impact and as a nurse I want you to remember to value and cherish every single interaction because each one provides you with an opportunity to have a compassionate and meaningful interaction with someone. Remember these small acts of compassion are pieces of the artful masterpiece of relationships you are creating as a nurse and they become a significant healing and restorative piece of care.”

Tania de la Fuente, Ph.D., SLU-Madrid director of health science programs and Clinical Coordinator Diana Llamas, RN, B.S.N. read statements from Teri A. Murray, Ph.D., dean of SLU's School of Nursing and Joanne Langan, Ph.D., associate dean for undergraduate education and pre-licensure programs in nursing, who could not be in attendance but wished to address the students.

Student speaker Regan Rosinski ('21) also addressed her classmates with a message of perseverance. 

“Despite the stress and pain nursing might cause, we are determined to place the well being of others above ourselves no matter how difficult," she said. "Instead of giving up, we will pull it together and face each moment with patience and a smile. In these moments that challenge us we must hold onto the thing that inspired us all to be nurses in the first place.”

Also participating in the event were SLU-Madrid nursing faculty Jane Billinghurst, M.S.N., Martha Colon, M.S.N., and Anya Hillery, Ph.D., who, together Sañudo,  Llamas, and de la Fuente, ceremoniously cloaked the students with their white coats.

SLU-Madrid Director and Academic Dean, Paul Vita, Ph.D., concluded the event with words of tribute. 

The following 56 students were honored at the ceremony: