Ceremony welcomes students to the nursing profession

The School of Nursing hosted a virtual Welcome to the Nursing Profession ceremony Sept. 11 to celebrate Bachelor of Science in Nursing and Master of Nursing students’ entry into the nursing profession.

Christine Mueller, PhD, RN, FGSA, FAAN, senior executive associate dean for academic programs, spoke about the three documents that frame the profession, the Nursing’s Social Impact Statement, Code of Ethics for Nurses, and Scope and Standards of Nursing Practice as well as the 12 competencies that faculty identified as core to the nursing profession, including person-center care, leadership, evidence-based practice and clinical reasoning.

“While nursing has been identified as the most trusted profession for the 18th year in a row, the past six months nurses and nursing have been front and center."

“While nursing has been identified as the most trusted profession for the 18th year in a row, the past six months nurses and nursing have been front and center. Nurses have led public health interventions to prevent and contain the COVID-19 virus,” said Mueller. “They have counseled, comforted and reassured those that have had symptoms. They have demonstrated their superhero powers at the bedside of those hospitalized with the virus and they steadfastly ensured that patients in hospitals and senior living facilities could communicate and, in many cases, say their good-byes to their families.”

She announced that the school is providing all nursing students with a membership to the National Student Nurses Association, which is dedicated to fostering the professional development of nursing students.

Rather than a white coat ceremony, the School of Nursing focuses on the community students are entering and the competencies the profession requires.

Also speaking were Elizabeth Travis, president of the Minnesota Student Nurses Association, and alum Oriana Beaudet, vice president of nursing innovation for ANA Enterprise, who spoke on the organization’s role in nursing.

With the Dean’s National Board of Visitors, Alumni Society Board of Directors, Foundation Board of Trustees and faculty looking on, sophomore students in the Bachelor of Science in Nursing program and first-year Master of Nursing students read a commitment to the profession. It stated, in part, “As a future professional nurse dedicated to providing the highest quality care and service, I am committed to act in a compassionate and trustworthy manner in all aspects of my care to patients, families and communities. I commit to apply knowledge, experience and skills to the best of my ability to assure optimal outcomes for those in my care.”