The College of Health’s Nursing Program Holds White Coat Ceremony

(October 21, 2025) - Clayton State University School of Nursing recently celebrated the white coat ceremony for current juniors in the nursing program. It is an important tradition for students preparing for careers dedicated to caring for the health of others.

A two-time School of Nursing graduate, Dr. Marjorie Sewannyana gave an inspiring talk to the students at the ceremony about how she earned a bachelor’s degree in nursing, master’s degree in nursing education and certification in Family Practice Nursing at Clayton State and how that learning guided her career success.

“The white coat ceremony is very exciting because this is it represents a student entering into clinical practice, said Dr. Victoria Foster, Director, Undergraduate Nursing Programs at Clayton State University School of Nursing. “Students begin by gaining hands-on experience in the skills lab and classroom. As they build their knowledge and prepare to enter the clinical or hospital settings, we mark this important transition by presenting them with a white coat.”

The white coat ceremony is a ritual used by schools of medicine and other health-related fields to mark a student's introduction to the clinical health sciences. During these events, students are asked to be explicit in their commitment to providing humanistic, patient-centered care as they begin caring for those in clinical settings.

In 2014, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) formed a new partnership with The Arnold P. Gold Foundation to introduce this rite of passage to nursing schools in recognition of the need for all members of the healthcare team to commit to providing compassionate care. In Fall of 2018 Clayton State School of Nursing held its first White Coat Ceremony.