November 29, 2021

SVSU students step toward nursing careers in White Coat Ceremony

Saginaw Valley State University saw 78 nursing students pledge to serve others as they recited an oath to patient care and accepted a white coat as a symbol of their professional status. It is a rite of passage familiar to many in the healthcare field.

SVSU held two White Coat Ceremonies ― the first ever at the university ― one for 56 students pursuing Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) degrees, and another for 22 students in the Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP) program. The 2021 Gold-AACN White Coat Ceremony for Nursing at SVSU was made possible by a grant from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.

“The White Coat Ceremony is a rite of passage that serves to welcome students to their clinical practice,” said Karen Brown-Fackler, SVSU associate professor of nursing. “The most important part of the ceremony is the oath that students take in front of family members, faculty members, university administrators, and their peers to provide compassionate and respectful care to patients and families.”

All of the students hail from Michigan, a state challenged by a current nursing shortage.

Monica Baranski, vice president of patient care services and chief nursing officer at McLaren Bay Region, gave the keynote address at the ceremony for BSN students. Several members of SVSU’s nursing faculty spoke at the ceremony for Primary Care FNPs. Faculty presented white coats to the students at both events.

The White Coat Ceremony was initiated in 1993 at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians & Surgeons by Arnold P. Gold, M.D., who was a professor and pediatric neurologist. Dr. Gold, a passionate advocate for humanistic healthcare, believed that the oath taken by new physicians at the end of medical school came too late. Through the nonprofit organization that he and his wife, Dr. Sandra Gold, started, the Arnold P. Gold Foundation has expanded the White Coat Ceremony around the globe.

In 2014, recognizing the vital role nurses play in the healthcare team, the Gold Foundation partnered with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to adopt a White Coat Ceremony for Nursing. More than 360 schools of nursing now participate and the number continues to grow.

This year, there are 25 students in SVSU’s Primary Care Family Nurse Practitioner Program and 77 in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program. All are from Michigan.

Students in the FNP program are:

Aubree Akers, Ashley
Danielle Alvarado, Saginaw
Kristine Aurand, Traverse City
Jessica Belill, Birch Run
Gandhi Bhattarai, Saginaw
Grace Djapri, Midland
Cecilia First, Mount Pleasant
Dana Gonzalez, Palms
Joshuah Guigar, Bad Axe
Wendy Haenlein, Saginaw
Ashley Howe, Saginaw
Hailey Jancarik, Corunna
Lindsay Kienitz, Saginaw
Kimberly Lange, Fenton
Nicole Mahirwe, Freeland
Jane Maina, Essexville
Sarah Noyes, Freeland
Kailey Obendorfer, Freeland
Devin Ohora, Midland
Amber Schauman, Freeland
Zachary Stewart, Saginaw
Alicia Sullivan, Freeland
Alyona Tourlaeva, Wolverine Lake
Angela VanDerkarr, Traverse City
Jessica Westphal, Saginaw

The BSN students are:

Fatimah Al Taroti, Saginaw
Brody Ankoviak, Hope
Brianne Aumann, Essexville
Sarah Bauer, Saginaw
Ava Befus, Midland
Udita Bhandari, Saginaw
Rachel Boswell, Croswell
Ciara Brzezinski, Saginaw
Mariah Curtiss, Freeland
Shelby Durbin, Fowlerville
Emily Gadille, Bay City
Ashley Green, Davison
Madison Greene, Midland
Alyssa Grzemkowski, Saginaw
Aleah Hibbard, West Branch
Gabrielle Isles, Bannister
Madasyn Justice, Pinckney
Elizabeth Mikolajek, Fraser
Alexis Naylis, Oxford
Shristi Paudyal, Saginaw
Hailey Pfaff, Harbor Beach
Lauren Pfleghaar, Bay City
McKenna Rusz, Saginaw
John Spryshak, Hartland
Rheanna Swinson, Big Rapids
Mikaela VanErp, Ubly
Madeline Yanoski, Pinconning
Zolene Anter, Marlette
Emma Bell, Macomb
Laila Boggan, Rochester Hills
Kristen Brylowski, Ostego
Tyler Burrell, Commerce Township
Rachel Ceresa, Hartland
Jacquelyn Couturier, New Baltimore
Jillian Degroat, Fenton
Mackenzie Falls, Port Sanilac
Sarah Fredrick, Grosse Pointe Woods
Alexis Gills, Byron Center
Isabella Grillo, Fraser
Jenna Hine, Kawkawlin
Rylyn Hrabal, Breckenridge
Destiny Khang, Kawkawlin
Nolan Manauis, Clinton Township
Alyssa Middleton, West Branch
Dixie Moorman, Sunfield
Lilly Piorkowski, Vassar
Paige Prime, Caro
Madison Saleh, Clinton Township
Gabrielle Simons, Merrill
Kiersten Stoddard, Jackson
McKenzie Stomack, Ubly
Katherine Tennyson, Byron
Natalie Aldrich, Clio
Noelle Augustyniak, Pinconning
Kylie Beaudry, Bay City
Nicole Bragg, Howell
Josie Butterfield, Bay City
Frida Chico, Holland
Avery Eastman, Galesburg
Cynthia Ferguson, St. Helen
Michelle Ferrell, Westland
Lauren Gerard, Chesterfield
Madison Groves, Traverse City
Ashlyn Harris, Byron
Brooklyn Kelly, Sanford
Jasmon Kjaer, Snover
Kyle Krupp, Eagle
Rachel Lupini, Grand Ledge
Sydnee Martin, Ida
Alexa Mort, Henderson
Jenna Powell, Midland
Sarah Pretzer, Midland
Elle Shelvey, Wolverine Lake
Allyson Simmons, Midland
Hailey Sirut, Macomb
Micah Stinson, Midland
Madison Tousigna, West Branch