School of Nursing Dean Larry Slater welcomed a large audience of family, friends, faculty and clinical partners filling the MSN Nurse Practitioner White Coat Ceremony in the SITE auditorium on April 29.

“Today’s ceremony is more than a tradition. It’s a promise,” Slater said. “The white coat you will receive symbolizes your commitment to passion, integrity, lifelong learning and the sacred trust our patients place in us. It reminds us that nursing is not only a science, but also a calling grounded in humanness and service."

In her congratulatory remarks, President Marie Hardin said each student’s Quinnipiac School of Nursing experience has thoroughly prepared them for their work. As they engage in the mental, physical and emotional challenges of the profession, Hardin encouraged them to remember they are being upheld by a community of faculty, staff and supporters who are cheering them on with hope and admiration.

“Practice builds confidence. Trust in this fact: you are prepared for the experience you have in front of you, and you wouldn’t be putting on that white coat if you weren’t,” said Hardin. “I see students whose work is going to lift and transform lives and give people hope and will also be giving comfort. I also see students who are going to find great joy in the vocation that you are choosing and that you are on the path to fulfill.”’

Senior Associate Dean Lisa Rebeschi introduced keynote speaker and Quinnipiac alumna Ines Zemaitis, DNP '19, APRN, DNP.

“I want every single person in the room to see the nurse practitioner for their healthcare; because I’m there for you in every single basic aspect of your life — in your health, in your emotional journey, in your physical journey, in your mental health journey,” Zemaitis said. 

Zemaitis surprised the students by opening the microphone to volunteers to give a 60-second elevator pitch about what they can offer people in their care as nurse practitioners.

“The elevator speech is simple,” Zemaitis said. “You want to tell them about yourself. You want to focus on what is relevant to you and emphasize what you want to bring to this table from the moment you wear your white coat until you retire. What is it that makes you stand out from the rest? Why are they seeing you instead of a physician? Your goal is to end on why they need you and not anyone else. Have a mission that you want to give to others, or a phrase that’s about you and what you do.”

Prior to becoming a nurse practitioner, Zemaitis worked as a registered nurse for Emergency and Trauma Services at Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Hartford. As a nurse practitioner, she has served the greater Waterbury area for over a decade.

“This is my profession and I absolutely love it. I want you to be as passionate as I am,” Zemaitis said. “It is important that I continue this career, and it’s important for me to teach all of you that we will need to continue this. We are the strong light of healthcare.”

The history of the white coat ceremony in nursing was shared by Kate Pfeiffer, director of the School of Nursing’s psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner program.

“In 2014, recognizing the vital role we nurses play in the healthcare team, the Arnold P. Gold Foundation partnered with the American Association of Colleges of Nursing to bring the white coat ceremony to nursing. Since then, over 360 schools of nursing across the country and the world have now participated, including our very own Quinnipiac University School of Nursing,” Pfeiffer said.

She said the ceremony also provides an important emphasis on compassionate, collaborative, scientifically excellent care from the students’ very first day of training.

“The receipt and placement of your white coat symbolize the science of nursing, humanity and caring, the nursing student’s transition to advanced nursing practice and a noble calling to serve and commit to making a difference in the lives of many; and the betterment of healthcare and promoting health for all,” said Pfeiffer.

To resounding applause and cheers from the audience, each student was recognized as faculty assisted them in donning their white coats. Rebeschi also presented each student with an Arnold P. Gold Foundation pin.

Symbolizing humanism in healthcare, the Gold Foundation pin emphasizes the importance of empathy, respect, and the patient-nurse bond, said Claire Puzarne, assistant dean for student success.

Among the 73 MSN Nurse Practitioner students celebrated at the ceremony, white coats were conferred upon 32 family nurse practitioners, 17 adult-gerontology primary care nurse practitioners, 13 adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioners, and 11 psychiatric mental health nurse practitioners.

Rebeschi thanked all attendees for joining the School of Nursing in celebrating each student’s transition to practice.

“I’m sure they look forward to your continued support over the next part of their journey to become not just a Quinnipiac alum but a future nurse leader that will transform healthcare,” said Rebeschi.