Nurse practitioner students begin clinicals with white coat ceremony

KOKOMO, Ind. - As a symbol of commitment to compassionate, patient-centered health care, 13 Indiana University Kokomo family nurse practitioner (FNP) students donned their white coats for the first time in a ceremony in Kresge Auditorium.

Dean Angela Opsahl welcomed the students, their families, and friends, to the ceremony that marks the clinical portion of graduate education.

"These individuals are already experienced nurses," she said. "They have served in ICUs, emergency departments, and countless other settings in our communities. You recognize their expertise, and tonight we celebrate their decision to advance their education and take on a new role during a time of great change in healthcare."

Workforce shortages, increased patient needs, and demands on clinicians have created great challenges in the field, she said, and nurses have answered the call.

"This commitment reflects the very heart of nursing: adaptability, compassion, and dedication to meeting the needs of those we serve," Opsahl said.

Dea Kent, director of the FNP program and assistant professor of nursing, welcomed the nurses to advanced health care practice, noting that the white coat ceremony is not just a celebration of what has already been accomplished. It's also a moment of humility, and a reminder that learning is just beginning.

"The white coat ceremony for nurse practitioner students symbolizes the moment when you begin to consciously and intentionally blend nursing and medicine in practice," she said. "But even more than that, it represents a transformation within you. Your thinking is changing. Your clinical lens is widening. Your sense of responsibility is deepening. As nurses, you already know how to care. You know how to listen, how to recognize suffering, how to advocate, how to stand with patients in their most vulnerable moments. Now, you will build upon that foundation. You will add diagnostic reasoning, advanced clinical judgement, and leadership to the compassion you already possess.

"You stand at the threshold of a transformative journey, one that will challenge you, stretch you, and shape you," she said. "This education will prepare you to practice independently, safely, and excellently. But more than that, it will prepare you to serve - to lead, to advocate, and to heal."

Recent alumna Samantha Feltner, a nurse practitioner at Franciscan Physician Network Cardiology in Lafayette, offered words of encouragement to the students. She noted that the four pillars - foundational ideas to support them as they become nurse practitioners - are preparation, curiosity, flexibility, and perseverance.

"Walter Elliot, a Scottish physician and writer, said that perseverance is not a long race, it's many short races one after the other. That sounds like FNP school to me," Feltner said. "So always remember, don't give up! Not on yourself, not on your journey, and not on your dream. You are worthy and you have made it here on purpose, for a purpose."

FNPs are registered nurses who have completed specialized advanced graduate education, passed national board examinations, and are licensed to manage a broad range of health problems. They do physical exams, order and interpret results from blood tests and X-rays, diagnose and treat illnesses, and write prescriptions. They use a patient- and family-centered approach to healthcare, and emphasize health promotion, disease prevention, patient education, symptom control, and care coordination.

Members of the class, listed by hometown, include:

Attica: Kirstin Goad

Carmel: Elise Laatz, Katherine Wieland

Fishers: Ashley Baker

Fort Wayne: Clayton Clifford

Kokomo: McKenzie Bray, Jaylan Longgood, Autumn Martinez, Kelly Neal, Ashley Taylor

Lebanon: Craig Corwin

Peru: Lindsay Golden

Wabash: Mikaela Gardner

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