Louise Urban
Feb 08, 2022
The event will honor students in the Master of Science in Nursing Administration and Leadership program.
California University of Pennsylvania’s Master of Science in Nursing Administration and Leadership program will conduct its inaugural White Coat Ceremony at 6 p.m. Feb. 11 via Zoom.
“Cal U is one of the first universities to recognize Master of Science in Nursing Administration and Leadership students with a white coat ceremony. Typically, these ceremonies are held only for nurses entering their profession,” said Dr. Nicole Evanick, RN, assistant professor and Global Online coordinator for Cal U’s MSN and MSN-MBA programs.
“I wanted to do something different for these students to honor them for stepping up to become a leader in these difficult times in health care.”
Evanick said the White Coat Ceremony is a powerful symbol of transformation that symbolizes the purity of purpose and the vital role that nurses play in the health care team.
“During this ceremony, our university community will honor the nurses' commitment to providing compassionate and collaborative care through leadership. Furthermore, we will honor the commitment our professional nursing students are making to further their education to become a leader within the healthcare community,” she said.
In addition to the white coat, each student receives from the Gold Foundation a Mobius loop pin, which symbolizes the continuous bond of trust, respect and communication that connects health care providers to their patients when humanism is at the core.
Louise Urban, a 1998 graduate of Cal U’s RN-BSN program and senior vice president of operations for Allegheny Health Network, will address the students. In her role with AHN, Urban establishes strategic priorities and leads business operations for clinical care facilities across the network’s eastern and southern geographic footprint. She has more than 25 years of progressive clinical, management and executive leadership experience.
A graduate of the Western Pennsylvania Hospital School of Nursing, Urban earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Cal U and a Master of Science degree in Health Service Administration from the University of St. Francis. She has been part of the AHN family since 1991, when she joined Jefferson Hospital as a registered nurse in the hospital’s intensive care unit. Urban is member of the boards of directors for Healthcare Council of Western Pennsylvania and Pressley Ridge.
Those receiving the white coat and pin include: Lauren Anderson, Brandon Bohla, LaTasha Bradley, Anneliese Dyer, December Dessify, Jimmy Estilloso, Deidre Frieze, Stephanie Gottselig, Shelia Hill, Christine Johns, Chelsea Maser, Peter Potrykus, Samantha Pulliam, Deborah Russell, Allison Ryan, Justin Short, Donna Smith, Mark Suba, Megan Trump and Morgan Wagner.
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation established the White Coat Ceremony in 1993 to emphasize humanism in medicine at the very start of medical education. Gold, a Columbia University professor, believed that the oath taken by new physicians at the end of medical school came too late. Today, 99% of U.S. medical schools accredited by the Association of American Medical Colleges hold a White Coat Ceremony.