HPU's Fourth Annual White Coat Ceremony

The fourth annual HPU White Coat ceremony was held on Monday Sept. 19, to acknowledge the incoming nursing class of Fall 2016. The class consists of 72 students who were accepted into the program.

The ceremony is an ongoing tradition at HPU and the College of Health and Society that accepts new students into the major and ingrains within them the significance of the art and science of the nursing program. The introduction and welcoming the new students into the program exemplifies the nature of nursing.

Audrey Torres, Ph.D., Sr. VP of Patient Care Services and Chief Nursing Officer of the Rehabilitation Hospital of the Pacific was the guest speaker at the event. She described to the students her early experiences as a nurse and how learning to deliver compassionate care to patients shaped her current practice of nursing.

Provost Matthew Liao-Troth, Ph.D., Dean of the College of Health and Society Lynette Landry, Ph.D., BSN Department Chair Jayne Smitten, and HPU Student Nurse President Laura Meyer also shared remarks with the new nursing students.

At the conclusion of the ceremony, students recited a pledge promising to give compassionate care to patients. Following the pledge, they officially donned their white coats for the first time and were given pins to commemorate the ceremony. The event was held in front of Lanai of the Hawaii Loa campus and was followed by a small reception that honored the new nursing students.