On Wednesday, Sept. 14 at 6:30 p.m., the Carroll College Nursing Program hosted it’s annual White Coat and Hand Blessing Ceremony in the All Saints Chapel. The ceremony is a rite of passage to emphasize the importance of compassionate patient care.
“The Nursing Department at Carroll College has been hosting our annual Hand Blessing Ceremony for the past nine years as a way to remember the importance of our human touch in the process of healing and to renew our commitment to using our hands to bring compassion, love, and healing to those in our care,” said Lauren Swant, Associate Professor and Director of the Nursing Program. Swant is currently in her second year teaching at Carroll.
Nursing students were given a specially designed pin, provided by The Arnold P. Gold Foundation, that serves as a visual reminder of their commitment to providing high-quality care with humanism at the core of their practice.
“As nurses, we play an integral role in creating a caring human connection and we symbolize this during this ceremony by blessing our students’ hands for healing and attaching the Mobius pin to their White Coats. Given the current healthcare climate, this ceremony feels more relevant than ever,” said Swant.
In receiving their Mobius pins and hand blessings, around fifty students were initiated into the Nursing Program Wednesday evening.
“The White Coat Ceremony was a very special experience and it was a great feeling to partake in that tradition,” said Jamie Pickens, a senior Nursing major. “Carroll’s Nursing Program is such an exceptional thing to be a part of, and I am super excited to start this journey towards being a nurse.”