The Department of Nursing at Misericordia University recently held its inaugural Arnold P. Gold Foundation and American Association of Colleges of Nursing White Coat Ceremony for Nursing in Lemmond Theater in Walsh Hall by cloaking 52 sophomore nursing students who began the professional portion of the nursing program in the spring semester.
Misericordia University received financial support from the Gold Foundation and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to establish the White Coat Ceremony. An international nonprofit, the Gold Foundation established the ceremony in 1993 as a way to welcome new students into the professions of medicine and to underscore the importance of humanistic and patient-centered health care.
At the Misericordia University White Coat Ceremony, family and friends, as well as faculty and administration watched as sophomore nursing students took an oath that acknowledges their essential role as caregivers, with an emphasis on the Religious Sisters of Mercy's charisms of Mercy, Service, Justice and Hospitality. Students also received white coats and lapel pins that feature the Gold Foundation's logo, a stethoscope in the shape of a heart surrounded by the words "humanism in medicine," to remind them compassion and empathy must be the hallmark of their clinical practice.
John W. Mullen, R.N., A.N.D., P.H.R.N., C.F.R.N., a registered nurse in a cardiac intensive care unit, delivered an emotional keynote address in which he outlined the compassionate care he received in the hospital by his health care team. Mullen began his career in health care as an orderly, as he continued his education in nursing. Through the years, he has worked in various roles in the nursing profession, including 15 years as a as a flight nurse with the Geisinger Medical Centers Life Flight program.
Misericordia University nursing students were cloaked by Cynthia Mailloux, Ph.D., R.N., C.N.E., professor and chair; Vanessa Mayorowski, M.S.N., C.R.N.P., assistant professor and director of the undergraduate nursing program, and Kathleen Gelso, M.S.N., R.N., C.N.E., assistant professor.
Misericordia University features the oldest nursing program in the area and graduates more students in the health sciences than any other college or university in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The University offers three undergraduate nursing programs: traditional, full-time nursing students; part-time evening program for adult students; and the RN to BSN Expressway Program. The undergraduate nursing programs are designed to meet the special educational and scheduling needs of adult and traditional students. They all lead to the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degree.
The MSN nursing program is designed to meet the special needs of current BSN registered nurses who desire an advanced practice specialization as a family nurse practitioner. Misericordia also offers a post-master's certificate as a family nurse practitioner for nurses who already have an advanced clinical master's degree and who wish to change or expand their practice focus to primary care. Nurse practitioners are registered nurses with advanced education in health assessment, diagnosis and management of acute and chronic health conditions with expertise in health promotion and disease prevention. Graduate programming leads to the MSN and provides course work in a convenient part-time, one-day-a-week format.
The University also offers an online Doctor of Nursing Practice degree program in two formats to accommodate the needs of busy health care professionals and in response to a growing national need.
For more information about the nursing program at Misericordia University, please call (570) 674-6400 or log on to www.misericordia.edu/nursing. Founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1924, Misericordia University is Luzerne County's first four-year college and offers 32 academic programs on the graduate and undergraduate levels in full- and part-time formats. Misericordia University ranks in the top tier of the Best Regional Universities – North category of U.S. News and World Report's 2016 edition of Best Colleges, and was designated a 2016 Best Northeastern College by the Princeton Review.
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The Department of Nursing at Misericordia University held its inaugural Gold-AACN White Coat Ceremony for Nursing by cloaking 52 sophomore nursing students who began the professional portion of the nursing program in the spring semester. Students participating in the program included, first row from left, Caitlin Walsh, Laflin, Pa.; Jessica Langone, Honesdale, Pa.; Kristine Pavlicka, Pocono Lake, Pa.; Rachael Taylor, Hightstown, N.J.; Alyson Clegg, Roaring Branch, Pa.; Victoria Avidano, Bloomingburg, N.Y.; Alexis Savage, Bloomsburg, Pa.; Jessica Wood, Dickson City, Pa.; Olivia Garcia, Oyster Bay, N.Y.; Kate Varallo, Doylestown, Pa., and Christopher Hutter, Elmsford, N.Y.; second row, Emily Power, North Wales, Pa.; Jessica Watkins, Elysburg, Pa.; Amanda Halchak, Nanticoke, Pa.; Shannon Post, Branchville, N.J.; Monica Murray, Hopkinton, Mass.; Lauren Butruce, Shavertown, Pa.; Jaime Hannis, Harding, Pa.; Felicia Turner, West Pittston, Pa.; Melissa Galloway, Bath, Pa.; Mary Stephens, Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Dana Warfel, Lancaster, Pa., and Philip Fraher, Plainview, N.Y.; third row, Mikhayla Michigan, Mullica Hill, N.J.; Sarah Harder, Catawissa, Pa.; Elyssa Yanik, West Pittston, Pa.; Samantha Scalzo, West Pittston, Pa.; Kayla Krishak, Springville, Pa.; Alyssa Schwarz, Belle Mead, N.J.; Julia Spencer, Manalapan, N.J.; Christina Guzinski, Shenandoah, Pa.; Lauren Hause, Kulpmont, Pa.; Emma Federinko, Spring Mills, Pa.; Valerie Pagano, Folsom, N.Y.; Michael Ryan, West Simsbury, Conn., and Zachary Moody, Clarence, Pa.; fourth row, Jacob Wysocki, Harding, Pa.; Gabby Watson, West Chester, Pa.; Kylee Hazur, Shickshinny, Pa.; Melanie Piser, Middletown, Del.; Toni Baran, Sugarloaf, Pa.; Rebecca Kunkel, Wernersville, Pa.; Kallie Miller, Pittston, Pa.; Isabella Botak, Soudertown, Pa.; Miranda Pardoe, Montandon, Pa.; Michelle Norton, Susquehanna, Pa.; Thomas Hircock, Chester Springs, Pa., and Tyler Arnold, Springville, Pa.