The Northern Oklahoma College Division of Nursing held a White Coat Ceremony Thursday, Oct. 6 at the Renfro Center in Tonkawa.The first White Coat Ceremony was created by Dr. Arnold P. Gold in 1993 to bring a focus on human caring back to the practice of medicine. The ceremony has expanded from medical schools to multiple healthcare disciplines, including nursing, . During the ceremony, students are cloaked and recite a professionalism pledge to acknowledge the importance of human caring and the need to keep patients at the center of that care. The cloaking ceremony symbolizes the passing of the nursing profession to a future generation who have the responsibility to provide compassionate care with the most up-to-date evidence throughout their careers, leaving the profession better off when they leave than when they began.“The white coat ceremony honors nursing’s traditions and acknowledges the equal contributions nurses at all levels make to humanistic caring healthcare practices,” said NOC Nursing Division Chair Dr. Nikole Hicks. “The placement of the ceremony for NOC nursing students marks their transition from the practice lab to patient care settings within our communities.”Students in the Class of 2024 participating in the ceremony include the following: Tonkawa – Ann Galindo, Caid Glowacki, Beth Hall, Aubrey Ingmire, Rosette Pruitt, Valrie Roblyer, Jennifer Schaefer, Cheyanne Shaw, Teagan Stewart, Brett Stoup, Jessica Waller, and Vanessa Wright.Enid – Jessica Belair, Christopher Caez-Rojas, Jacqueline Camarena, Kasey Collins, Curtis Conner, Maria Cornwell, Cindi Hagans, Lauren Haley, Alyson Myers, and Meagan Rexrode.Stillwater – Evan Gibson, Brian Halpin, Taylor Hargrove, Kirbie Howard, Josephine Huai, Alexandria Madden, Ashton Ottley, Payton Parrish, Maggie Swann, Cordelia Tillman, Caitlyn Vogel, Jenny Zhan.NOC Nursing Students acting as mentors are as follows: Tonkawa – Meliah Boyd, ’22; Lauren Eller, ’23; Rebecca Gordon, ’22; Saeble Harp, ’22; Kristen Leading Fox, ’23; Kacie Platt, ’22, Haylee Rogers, ’23; Emily Smith, ’23; and Kaylee Terry, ’22.Enid – Mikaela Browning, ’23; Amber Drapalla, ’22; Caitlyn Flackman, ’23; Patricia Frickenschmidt, ’23; Trist Kilian, ’23; Adriana Lopez, ’22; Janeka Perry, ’23; Joey Simmons, ’23; and Michael Ward, ’23.Stillwater – Courtney Covert, ’23; Ava Frank, ’23; Ashley Knox, ’23; Tara Mueggenborg, ’22; Kylee Pameticky, ’23; Harley Waldrep, ’23.
