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Tomorrow: Nursing students take oath during White Coat Ceremony

Ceremony commemorates beginning of clinical journey

by Michael Rouleau

Willimantic, CT (01/21/2026) — Eastern Connecticut State University will hold its second "white coat ceremony" on Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m. in the Fine Arts Instructional Center (FAIC) Concert Hall. More than 40 nursing students will be honored at the ceremony, which signals the beginning of students' clinical education.

YouTube live stream: https://youtube.com/live/5QZGHEcnS-8

  • What: White Coat Ceremony
  • When: Jan. 22 at 5:30 p.m.
  • Where: FAIC Concert Hall

At the ceremony, a professional oath will be taken, witnessed by family, friends, clinical partners, and members of the Eastern community, when the official white coat is received. This same coat will be worn at the nursing pinning ceremony as students conclude their nursing education at Eastern prior to graduation.

"The white coat ceremony is more than just a milestone in nursing school," said Lindsay Boucher, clinical coordinator for nursing and health sciences. "It is about forming a professional identity. It marks a meaningful transition for our students that honors their commitment to the nursing profession while welcoming them into a community that is grounded in compassion, service, leadership, and resilience."

This year's event includes:

  • Director's Welcome: Christina Nadeau, director of Nursing Program
  • Greetings from the President Karim Ismaili
  • Welcoming remarks from Provost Cheryl Wilson
  • Department Address: Yaw Nsiah, chair of Health Sciences & Nursing
  • Keynote Address: Deanna Hill, manager of professional development, Connecticut Children's Medical Center
  • Presentation of White Coats and Pins: Christina Nadeau and Lauren Lary
  • Nursing Oath to Compassionate Patient Care, led by Lindsay Boucher, clinical Coordinator

Including last year's students who transitioned to clinical education - who were honored in Eastern's first white coat ceremony - a total of 65 nursing students will be learning in clinical settings this spring 2026 throughout the region and in the Eastern/Hartford HealthCare simulation center at Windham Hospital.

The white coat ceremony was initiated in 1993 at Columbia University's Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons by Arnold P. Gold, MD, a professor and pediatric neurologist who was a passionate advocate for humanistic healthcare and believed that the oath taken by new physicians at the end of medical school came too late. Today, nearly every medical school in the United States and hundreds of nursing schools worldwide participate in this tradition, emphasizing a shared commitment among all healthcare team members to provide safe, compassionate, collaborative, and patient-centered care beginning on the very first day of training.

Nursing program background:

Eastern's nursing program was created with funding from the CT Health Horizons Initiative and with an innovative academic-clinical partnership with Hartford HealthCare to address the nursing shortage in Connecticut. Among the fastest-growing programs on campus, Eastern has 122 nursing students across its first three cohorts, with an expected 75 new students in fall 2026 - the program's cap per cohort.

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Eastern Connecticut State University is the state of Connecticut's public liberal arts university, serving upwards of 4,000 students annually on its Willimantic campus. A residential campus offering 41 majors and 68 minors, Eastern offers students a strong liberal arts foundation grounded in a variety of applied learning opportunities. Ranked among the top 25 public institutions in the North by U.S. News & World Report in its 2025-26 Best Colleges ratings, Eastern has also been awarded 'Green Campus' status by the Princeton Review 15 years in a row. For more information, visit www.easternct.edu.

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