During the 2021 Nurses Week, The Arnold P. Gold Foundation and the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) are pleased to announce a deepening of their 7-year collaboration to support nurses and their essential role in humanism in healthcare.
Beginning in 2014, the Gold Foundation and AACN have supported Nursing White Coat/Oath Ceremonies through grants and pins.
At the core of this joint effort is the White Coat/Oath Ceremony, a ritual created by the Gold Foundation to emphasize, from the very start of a student’s professional journey, that empathy, respect, and dignity are central to care.
Thousands of nursing students participate every year in this ceremony, which centers on an oath to compassionate patient care.
“The White Coat/Oath Ceremony is not about a white coat, or any healthcare talisman. It is about the vow we take to care for our patients with compassion, with empathy, with humanism,” said Dr. Richard I. Levin, President and CEO of the Gold Foundation. “Nurses have always been the epitome of personal, bedside connection with patients, which makes our partnership with AACN vital, especially in this moment of the dual pandemics.”
The Gold-AACN partnership includes funding opportunities to support White Coat/Oath Ceremonies for 50 additional nursing schools in fall 2021. Nursing schools interested in applying for White Coat/Oath Ceremony funding should complete an online application by June 4, 2021.
In addition, AACN President Dr. Deborah Trautman will be delivering a virtual keynote address for Nursing White Coat/Oath Ceremonies. This inspiring video will be made available to colleges of nursing to broadcast during their ceremony, as part of the Gold Foundation-AACN ceremony toolkit.
“Instilling a commitment to providing compassionate care early in a student’s professional formation makes a lasting impact on their approach to patient-centered care,” said Dr. Deborah Trautman, AACN President and CEO. “During Nurses Week and throughout the year, we applaud the Gold Foundation for their work to inspire clinicians across the health professions to build caring, trusting, and collaborative relationships with the patients they serve.”
The Gold-AACN White Coat/Oath Ceremony collaboration began in 2014 with generous financial support of Gold Trustee EIaine Adler. Since then, more than 350 schools have initiated the Gold-sponsored iconic ritual.
The Arnold P. Gold Foundation is an international nonprofit organization devoted to keeping healthcare human through compassionate, collaborative, scientifically excellent care. This Gold standard of care embraces all and targets barriers to such care. We empower experts, learners, and leaders to together create systems and cultures that support humanistic care for all. Founded in 1988, with strong roots in medical education, the Gold Foundation has expanded to embrace today’s challenges and the whole healthcare team with patients at the center.
The American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) is the national voice for academic nursing representing nearly 840 schools of nursing nationwide. AACN establishes quality standards for nursing education, influences the nursing profession to improve health care, and promotes public support of baccalaureate and graduate nursing education, research, and practice. Learn more at www.aacnnursing.org
