On Feb. 5, Siena Nursing students will don on their white coats for the welcoming of the sophomores into not only the Nursing Program, but also into the nursing family.

Unlike previous years, the Gold-AACN White Coat Ceremony for Nursing Program is funded by a grant received from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.  This allows for the ceremony to be conducted in a larger location – St. Dominic Chapel – instead of the Nursing Building. During the ceremony, students perform traditional rituals such as reciting a ceremony oath and the passing of the white coats from upperclassmen to the incoming sophomores.

When talking about last year’s ceremony, Patrick Allen, a senior nursing student and this year’s MLK Student Service Award winner, said, “It was welcoming the sophomores into the building … showing support … and getting the whole building involved.”

“I think that because we are such a secluded major that a lot of people don’t know us,” said Sierra Curtis, a junior nursing student, “so when the sophomores do get over to our building, it’s kind of a whole different world. I think it’s (the ceremony) a way to invite them and let them know that they’re part of the nursing family and show that although we are a small school, that we still are innovative and we still are professional.”

This is only one of the first steps that the students have in becoming nurses.

“You have a lot more work when you get in,” said Allen.  “This is the beginning. It’s not even close to the end.”