The University of Rhode Island College of Nursing officially welcomed the class of 2020 into the field of professional nursing during a White Coat Ceremony in Edwards Auditorium on Jan. 22.

The 80 nursing students crossed the stage to receive their white coats for the first time before Dean Barbara Wolfe led the class in reciting the Nightingale Pledge, a modified version of the Hippocratic Oath named for Florence Nightingale. After greetings from Dean Wolfe and new Associate Dean Mary Leveillee, guest speaker Barbara Riley, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Rhode Island Hospital and Hasbro Children’s Hospital, implored the students to upholds the standards of professionalism expected of health care providers.

Associate Clinical Professor Joan Dugas and Assistant Clinical Professor Mary Cloud helped the students into their white lab coats as they begin their work toward becoming professional nurses. Check out a gallery of the ceremony (click each photo to see the full pic), and read the full Practical Nurse Pledge below.

 

The “Practical Nurse Pledge,” a modern version of the Nightingale Pledge reads:
“Before God and those assembled here, I solemnly pledge;
To adhere to the code of ethics of the nursing profession;
To co-operate faithfully with the other members of the nursing team and to carryout faithfully and to the best of my ability the instructions of the physician or the nurse who may be assigned to supervise my work;
I will not do anything evil or malicious and I will not knowingly give any harmful drug or assist in malpractice.
I will not reveal any confidential information that may come to my knowledge in the course of my work.
And I pledge myself to do all in my power to raise the standards and prestige of the practical nursing;
May my life be devoted to service and to the high ideals of the nursing profession.”