The Nightingale Ceremony

SEPT. 20--For new nursing students, the Aug. 30 Nightingale Ceremony was an opportunity to feel like part of the UTMB community, at least it was for first-year nursing student Heather Coffey.“It was very nice that we got to shake Dr. Stobo’s hand,” Coffey said.  “If I see him around campus, I will feel more comfortable going up and speaking to him.  And it makes me feel like I can really go to faculty and talk with them.”

Coffey is one of 138 new students entering the baccalaureate program at the School of Nursing this year. The school also is welcoming 40 new student in the R.N. to B.S.N. program, and 66 new students who are pursuing Master of Nursing degrees.

These new students joined current and former nursing students as they were welcomed to the new academic year by UTMB President John D. Stobo, School of Nursing Dean Dr. Pamela Watson and UTMB Chief Operating Officer of Hospitals and Clinics Dr. Karen Sexton. The three led the second annual School of Nursing Nightingale Ceremony. The Nightingale Ceremony, named after nursing pioneer Florence Nightingale, marks the transition of new students into the nursing program and acknowledges the accomplishments of continuing students as they move into their senior year in nursing school.

“As future nurses, you are now entering a noble profession in which humanism and compassion reign supreme,” Stobo told students, faculty, alumni and staff.

As each student walked onto the stage, Watson handed them a scroll or a lamp.  Bruce Martin, the Student Nurses Association faculty advisor, led students and nurses in reciting the Nightingale Pledge, dedicating themselves to the nursing profession and patient care.  Faculty members and nursing staff appeared on stage in various nursing uniforms from different periods in nursing history, representing “nursing--past and present.”

“It made me feel I was entering something unique and special,” first year student Alexandro Vasquez said.

Watson encouraged the students to make the most of their time at UTMB and to strive for excellence in patient care.

“If Florence Nightingale were here with us today, her voice would tell you--learn all you can during this educational experience; be proud of your profession; keep strong in your persistence for better patient care--and hold your lamp high,” Watson said.

The Nightingale Ceremony is sponsored by the School of Nursing, UTMB Nursing Service and Nurse Recruitment, UTMB School of Nursing Alumni Association, the Alpha-Delta Chapter of Sigma Theta Tau, and the Texas Nurses’ Association District 6.