Nurses get white coats primarily as a symbolic rite of passage, marking their entry into clinical practice and their commitment to compassionate, patient-centered care. The tradition borrows from medicine’s long-standing white coat ceremony but has been adapted for nursing with its own distinct meaning. Whether a nurse wears a white coat day to day, however, depends on their role, their workplace, and where in the world they practice.
The White Coat Ceremony in Nursing
In 2014, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) partnered with the Arnold P. Gold Foundation to bring white coat ceremonies to nursing schools. The Gold Foundation had been running these ceremonies for medical students since the 1990s, and extending the tradition to nursing recognized that every member of the healthcare team, not just physicians, should formally commit to humanistic care. By 2016, the partnership had introduced white coat ceremonies at 160 nursing schools across the United States.
Nursing schools often call theirs an “oath ceremony” to distinguish it from the medical school version. The typical event includes an oath recitation, a commitment pin, and an address from a prominent role model. It’s meant to be a defining moment: the point where a student transitions from classroom learning to hands-on patient care.
What the White Coat Symbolizes
The white coat carries layered meaning in healthcare. In medicine, coat length signals rank. Medical students wear short coats to indicate their early training, and as they progress through residency and fellowship, they earn longer coats that reflect growing expertise. For nursing students receiving a white coat at a ceremony, the garment represents a parallel idea: readiness to enter clinical settings and a pledge to prioritize the patient.
But the symbolism is not without tension. The white coat has historically belonged to physicians, and its adoption by nurses has sparked real debate within the profession. A 2025 paper in nursing literature described the white coat as “a contested symbol in nursing,” one that “reflects deeper tensions about professional identity, legitimacy, and visual authority.” Some nurses wear it because their institution requires it or because it’s practical. Others worry that borrowing a physician’s visual marker risks reinforcing old hierarchies rather than celebrating what makes nursing distinct: its emphasis on relational, experiential, and embodied care.
A Brief History of White in Nursing
White has been associated with nursing far longer than any coat ceremony. Before the late 1800s, nuns in black habits served as nurses, mostly in charitable hospitals. At the turn of the 19th century, religious nursing orders traded their black habits for white ones, associating the color with cleanliness and purity at a time when germ theory was transforming medicine. By 1889, nurses were already depicted in white caps and white uniforms alongside patients draped in white sheets. The white coat ceremony for nursing students is a more recent layer on top of a much older visual tradition.
Practical Reasons for Wearing One
Beyond symbolism, some nurses, particularly nurse practitioners and other advanced practice nurses, wear white coats in clinical settings for straightforward practical reasons. White coats have deep pockets that can hold a stethoscope, phone, pens, reference cards, and small tools. Scrubs often lack adequate pocket space, which is why clinicians of all kinds improvise with fanny packs, vests, or fleece jackets when white coats aren’t available.
For nurse practitioners who work in outpatient clinics alongside physicians, a white coat can also help patients identify them as a provider rather than support staff. This matters in settings where role clarity affects whether a patient feels confident in the person managing their care. That said, wearing a white coat doesn’t automatically confer authority. Some patients associate the coat with a physician and become confused about who is treating them, which is one reason clear name badges and introductions remain important regardless of attire.
The Infection Control Debate
White coats are not without downsides. A study of 149 healthcare workers’ white coats found that 23% were contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus, the bacterium responsible for staph infections. Of those contaminated coats, 18% carried MRSA, a drug-resistant strain. Coats worn by clinicians working in inpatient units were the most likely to harbor bacteria: 28% of coats from inpatient and ICU workers tested positive for staph.
These findings have influenced policy in some countries. The UK’s National Health Service adopted a “bare below the elbows” standard for infection prevention, requiring healthcare workers to expose their forearms before performing hand hygiene. Long sleeves, including those on white coats, are considered a contamination risk because they contact surfaces and patients throughout the day and are rarely washed between encounters. This policy effectively discourages white coat use for nurses and doctors alike in NHS settings, prioritizing hygiene over tradition.
Who Actually Wears One Day to Day
Most bedside nurses in hospitals do not wear white coats during their shifts. Scrubs are the standard uniform for floor nurses, ICU nurses, and operating room staff because they’re easy to launder, allow freedom of movement, and meet infection control guidelines. The white coat in nursing is most commonly seen in two contexts: the ceremony itself (a one-time event) and the daily practice of advanced practice nurses working in clinic or office-based settings.
Nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, and nurse anesthetists are the groups most likely to wear a white coat regularly, and even among them it varies by employer policy and personal preference. Some institutions mandate it. Others leave it up to the individual. The coat’s meaning shifts depending on who is wearing it and why, which is part of what makes the debate within nursing so persistent. For a student at a ceremony, it’s aspirational. For a nurse practitioner in a busy clinic, it may be purely functional. For critics within the profession, it’s a borrowed symbol that doesn’t fully represent what nursing is.