Ceremony planned for YSU nursing students

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Youngstown State University has its inaugural “White Coat Ceremony” for nurses at 6 p.m. today in the Chestnut Room of Kilcawley Center on campus.

During the ceremony, YSU will cloak 112 sophomore nursing students with white coats and pins from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation representing humanism and excellence.

YSU President Jim Tressel and Joe Mosca, dean of the YSU Bitonte College of Health and Human Services, will participate.

Nancy Wagner, associate professor and chairwoman of Nursing, said white-coat ceremonies are typically a ritual at medical schools.

The American Association of Colleges of Nursing, however, has started to promote white-coat ceremonies as nursing students transition into their clinical experiences.

YSU was among 60 schools of nursing nationally awarded $1,000 grants from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation in conjunction with AACN, to support the ceremony.