Undergraduate and graduate Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College (SMWC) nursing students were recognized in March. This included a white coat ceremony on Wednesday, March 17 and induction into the Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society on Saturday, March 20. Both events were held observing COVID protocols of masks and physical distancing.
The family nurse practitioner program celebrated the College’s second ever White Coat Ceremony on Wednesday.
For the Class of 2022 cohort of 10 students, the ceremony was a rite of passage to their next role in the nursing profession. The presentation of the white coat signifies the start of their nurse practitioner clinical experience.
During the ceremony, Felicia Stewart, DNP, FNP-C, RN-BC and family nurse practitioner program director for SMWC, said, “This represents an intentional decision to accept responsibility for compassionate patient care.” Each name was called to slip on their white jacket and pause to display to their family and friends gathered.
On Saturday, Sigma Theta Tau Nursing Honor Society inducted 20 new members including 12 BSN students and eight nurse leaders. Members are invited to the SMWC Honor Society of Nursing based on a grade point average of 3.0 or above and ranking in the upper 35% of their class with completion of at least half of the nursing curriculum.
A nurse leader member is invited based on their degree in nursing with a minimum of a baccalaureate degree with a nurse license and a demonstration of achievement in nursing. The Omega Pi Chapter’s president and SMWC nursing instructor, Amanda O’Brien, MSN, RN, CPNP, welcomed the honored students and their families and friends. Marcia Miller, Ph.D., RN, nursing department chair, discussed her own membership and the work done by the organization, helping the newly inducted members understand the opportunities membership can bring. Each inductee was presented with a certificate of membership, a membership pin and each signed their name in the record of membership.