Sudbury Residents Recognized at Regis' White Coat Ceremony

From Regis College:

WESTON, MA. – May 10, 2016 – Regis, a leading Catholic university in Greater Boston, recognized 137 nurse practitioners at its first White Coat Ceremony (WCC) on May 3rd, 2016. Stephen Vander Els and Laura Houpt of Sudbury were among those presented with this symbol of the medical professions.

“Putting it simply, the white coat is associated with science,” said Regis President Antoinette Hays, PhD, RN, who was one of the faculty members who helped launch the NP program at Regis in 1995. “At a time when so much learning needs to be put into practice the white coat is associated with practice. It is a powerful professional symbol. For nursing students in particular, whose profession seems finally to be coming into its own to be recognized as a significant partner in health care, the white coat signifies mutual and collegial respect, dignity, and acknowledgment of know-how.”

“The White Coat Ceremony represents the student’s transition from the novice nurse practitioner to the professional nurse practitioner role,” said Professor Susan Sawyer, PhD, RN, also a faculty member at the origin of this Regis program. “It is a rite of passage and we, your faculty, are recognizing all of you with the symbol of the white coat. This means you are truly moving into the clinical practice arena and into advanced nursing specialty courses – family, pediatrics, women’s health, geriatrics, and psych-mental health.”

During the ceremony, students are brought onto the stage and “cloaked” in their first white coat in the presence of family, friends, and colleagues. The White Coat Ceremony was established in 1993 by the Arnold P. Gold Foundation as a way to mark the official start of students’ careers into the medical profession. Today, 97% of AAMC-accredited schools of medicine in the United States and Canada as well as several osteopathic schools of medicine and medical schools in 13 other countries partake in a white coat ceremony or similar rite of passage.

About Regis

Regis is a leading Catholic university in greater Boston with over 1900 undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in the arts, sciences and health professions devoted to engage, serve and advance in a global community. With a strategic graduate focus on health care, Regis was recently named a Center of Excellence in Nursing Education by the National League of Nursing for the third time. The intergenerational and multifaceted Weston campus includes a pre-school and a Life Long Learning program (LLARC) for senior adults with a passion for learning. Regis North, a satellite campus in Lawrence, Massachusetts, is an initiative of the Regis Institute of Advancing Studies (IAS) in partnership with Northern Essex Community College (NECC) and dedicated to bachelor’s degree completion in nursing, public health and other health sciences. Regis is also an Apple Distinguished School for 2014-2016. Visit Regis on the Web at www.regiscollege.edu.

Photo: 137 nurse practitioners at Regis’ first White Coat Ceremony