REMEMBER PINNING CEREMONY?

Do you remember some of the thoughts that passed through your mind while in nursing school? 

• “How am I ever going to get through this program?”
• “Why is it so difficult to get an A? “
• “How is it possible to get all of this work completed?”? 

 Then the final exam grade comes through, and you realize that **YOU MADE IT**!   The pinning ceremony is the first time you and your classmates come together for the big celebration!   

One of my favorite experiences every semester is to see the graduating nurses at the Pinning Ceremony, thrilled that this day has come!  It is a time for thanking family, friends, faculty, and staff who helped make a difference toward their sanity and success, and the excitement that their new career is about to begin!  I always come prepared with tissues, as the emotion of the occasion fills the room!  Our 2011 graduating class included a total of 140 graduating nursing students!

I want to share the most recent class selected students’ speeches from the May 2011 Pinning Ceremony:

Graduation Class of 2011 speech by Christine Martin:

“Good evening everyone.  My name is Christine Martin and I’m here with my friend, Bernie Jones, to represent the Montgomery College Nursing Class of 2011. Wow, what a ride! We always knew in our hearts that we wanted to be nurses, and now our dream is finally coming true. We started out on this journey together 2 years ago. Most of us were strangers to one another, but we quickly bonded and became a family.  We helped each other out from the very beginning:  From learning how to make an occupied bed to delivering babies; from washing our hands and gathering our equipment to documenting like pros without any doubts.  No longer will we have stress R/T lack of sleep AEB being a nursing student.  We were once novices and now we’re nursing powerhouses.

As nursing students, we’ve been videotaped, blindfolded, squeezed, palpated and tested. Tested, tested and retested. We laughed out loud so that we wouldn’t cry.  Throughout it all, we became stronger, more confident and grew closer to one another.  We celebrated the births of several babies among our group and mourned together when we experienced death. For me, it was these experiences that confirmed we were a real family.  I would not be standing here today if it were not for the love and support of my fellow nursing students.  I will never forget how you all carried me through in my darkest hours.  I really love you.

A profound thank you goes out to the professors, who are also part of our family. They helped to mold each of us into the people that we are today.  We are forever grateful for their time and commitment to our learning. We are also very grateful for the variety of clinical experiences that we had. So many hospitals and clinics!

And to our families, our heartfelt thanks.  You are our inspiration and our motivation. The many sacrifices that you made have put us here today. 

I leave you with a quote from Donna Cardillo, a columnist with Nurse Spectrum magazine: “Nursing is not for everyone.  It takes a very strong, intelligent, and compassionate person to take on the ills of the world with passion and purpose and work to maintain the health and well-being of the planet.  No wonder we're exhausted at the end of the day!  Thank you”.

Graduation Class of 2011 Speech by Bernadette Jones:

Good evening Montgomery College Nursing Class of Spring 2011!  Good evening family, friends and faculty.  I would like to welcome you to the day we have all been anxiously waiting for.  We started out as a group of men and women from different backgrounds:  EMTs, patient care techs, pharmacy techs, veterinarian techs, secretaries, taxi drivers, bartenders and the like.  Two years ago we were a class of 104 members.  We were strangers pursuing a common goal, full of hope, promise, and excitement.  The first week we rushed out to get our LOVELY white uniforms, stethoscopes and pen lights.   As Chris pointed out, we endured the first year and made it to our second year.  We lost a lot of people along the way.  The fires of NU 230, 233 and 234 have melded us into a family unit and drawn us closer together.  Now we are a class of close friends.  We have studied long hours together.  We helped each other through countless concept maps, health fairs, and simulation skills tests.   Every week we found ourselves staring at the “doomsday clock” which counted down time left during exams.   We learned from some of the BEST healthcare educators of our time.  Although they did not make our journey easy, they did not withhold the important lessons we needed to learn. 

There is a saying that I carry with me in my heart – “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage" (A. Nin).  It took great courage for us to embark on this journey.  We made great sacrifices to get here, to pursue our dreams of becoming Registered Nurses.  As we close the door on this chapter of our lives and step forward into the next epic journey, let us remember the many people in our lives who encouraged us to soar.  We would like to THANK YOU the countless mothers, fathers, husbands, boyfriends, wives, girlfriends, life partners, children, grandparents, family and friends who are here today with shoulders heavy from our tears.  You gave us immeasurable support and encouraged us to continue when we thought we could not.  You listened to our nursing HORROR stories, participated as LIVE patients at all hours of the day when we needed extra practice for our hands-on skills test, and you helped keep us SANE when we thought we had  lost our minds.  You made sure we saw our dream to completion.

 

We would also like to thank the President of Montgomery College, Doctor D. P. Pollard; Angie Pickwick, Dean of Health Sciences; Barbara Nubile, Associate Dean of Health Sciences / Director of Nursing Program; and Dianna Matthews, Program Coordinator/ Nursing Professor .  Lastly, we would like to thank the OUTSTANDING Faculty of the Nursing Program here at Montgomery College.   You taught us the true meaning of hard work, dedication, and the creed “DO NO HARM.”  You listened to our endless questions about how to give a bed bath, the pathophysiology of disease, DSM-(4) IV and mood disorders, tracheotomy care, community nursing, and how to care for the high-risk mother and baby during labor and delivery.  You encouraged us to “Think about what you are Doing” when giving patient care.  You reminded us at 7 AM to assess our patient’s needs by saying,”Get  in there and talk to your patient.”  You did all these things to mold us into the next generation of exceptional Montgomery College Graduates.

I would like to leave you all with a final thought.  Close your eyes.  Take a deep breath.  Feel the calmness of your breath.  Approach your nursing career with the same calmness of the breath you just took. Feel the rhythm of your heart beat.  Pattern your successes like the constant beats of your heart.  Never forget the greatness you were taught.  To the left and right of you are people who will help you in your time of need.  Be humble enough to ask for help.   Remember to treat your patients with the care you would give to yourself.  And finally, remember the five C’s of nursing:  Be CALM, COMPASSIONATE, CONFIDENT, CONSISTENT, COURAGEOUS!

I wouldn’t be surprised that after reading the two wonderful speeches given during the Pinning Ceremony, you pulled out a couple of tissues yourself.  Remember the excitement, love what you do, make a positive difference in the world!      Linda Rosier, MSN, RN