UPEI Faculty of Nursing celebrates first year students during inaugural Scrub Coat Ceremony
The UPEI Faculty of Nursing in collaboration with the PEI Department of Health and Wellness held its inaugural Scrub Coat Ceremony on February 9, 2023, at the UPEI Performing Arts Centre in the University’s new residence building. The ceremony was a celebration and welcoming of 71 first-year undergraduate nursing students and 15 first-year accelerated nursing students.
UPEI Faculty of Nursing Interim Dean, Dr. Christina Murray and Interim Associate Dean, Patrice Drake led the ceremony. Guest speakers included UPEI Elder-in-Residence Judy Clark; UPEI Interim President and Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Greg Keefe; Assistant Deputy Minister of Mental Health and Addictions, Krista Shaw; and Chief Nursing and Professional Practice Officer for Health PEI, Marion Dowling. Families, friends and other supporters of the students were also in attendance.
“I’m pleased to be here at the first-ever Scrub Coat Ceremony for our nursing students. It’s a wonderful way to recognize entry into the profession and I congratulate the UPEI Faculty of Nursing and the PEI Department of Health and Wellness for initiating this event,” said Keefe. “UPEI is advancing many health professions programs of which our Faculty of Nursing is an extremely important component. It is our job—and our privilege—at UPEI to ensure that you receive the knowledge, skills, and support you need to be outstanding members of the nursing profession.”
Shaw told the students that nursing education, much like the nursing profession, requires intelligence, commitment, compassion, and discipline, and she applauded the UPEI Faculty of Nursing programs.
“Both of the nursing programs offered by UPEI will broaden your minds, teach you hands-on health-care skills, and ultimately help you launch your nursing careers, providing exceptional care to those you treat. Tonight’s event is a chance to congratulate you all for the hard work in getting here and to present you with a token of our appreciation and respect. We are very fortunate and grateful that you are completing your clinical placements in our health system. We want you to know that we value your skills, not only when you complete your program and become RNs, but as you continue on in your BScN journey.”
Students were presented with white scrub coats during the ceremony. They will wear the coats, which identify them as UPEI nursing students, throughout their 1,650 required clinical hours.
“I am proud to be a leader of a phenomenal nursing program, and I am your greatest fan and your biggest cheerleader,” said Murray. “You are supported by an incredible health-care system and a phenomenal administrative team here at UPEI. The faculty has your back, and you have incredible support by those who are here with you this evening, championing you and cheering you on.”
After the scrub coat presentations were completed, Dowling delivered closing remarks. She welcomed students to the program and profession, noting that she is a graduate of the UPEI School of Nursing’s first class. Speaking from her own experience, she assured students that faculty, clinical instructors, and nurses in the health-care system will support them on their journey. She added that she expects that the students will receive many job offers as their skills will be in high demand, but she hopes that they will consider working in health care on PEI.
Nursing student Emma MacKinnon said the Scrub Coat Ceremony provided her a true sense of the beginning of her nursing journey.
“The ceremony allowed me to recognize how hard my classmates and I have worked to get to this point and how much work and dedication is to come. For me, the scrub coat embodies the hard work, dedication, and commitment of being both a nursing student and a nurse.”
