SLU-Madrid Celebrates 10th Annual White Coat Ceremony
11/28/2024
On Nov. 27, the SLU-Madrid community congratulated the Class of 2027 nursing students in the San Ignacio Hall Auditorium as they transition into clinical practice.
"The White Coat Ceremony symbolizes the transition from theoretical nursing education to providing actual nursing care," said SLU-Madrid Professor John Longeway, M.S.N.
Karen M. Cuvar, Ph.D., and Kris L'Ecuyer, Ph.D., from SLU’s Valentine School of Nursing, addressed the students via Zoom.
"The nursing program here at SLU isn't like any other. It immerses us in the world of nursing almost immediately, giving us the opportunity to test our passion and commitment," said nursing student Katie Seeber. "If you had told me a few years ago that I would be studying abroad in Madrid while also continuing to be a committed and full-time nursing student, I would've laughed. Yet, here I am living that dream."
SLU-Madrid nursing student Semi Kim, originally from South Korea, shared a story about the time her mother, a nurse herself, was in a car crash in Tanzania and got first-aid assistance at the scene from a bystander German nurse.
Tania de la Fuente, Ph.D., SLU-Madrid Health Sciences Program director, called on the 29 students to receive their white coats. Nursing professors Henrietta Buckley, M.S.N., and Martha Nelson, Ph.D., performed the symbolic cloaking of white coats.
The ceremony concluded with students reciting the Health Profession Covenant, a pledge to their responsibilities as nurses.