On December 9th, our class celebrated our pinning ceremony. A pinning ceremony is a nursing-specific celebration of graduation from the nursing program. It signifies entry into the nursing field and was an incredibly special time to celebrate our nursing school journey with our family and friends. There were so many smiles and a few tears as we realized how soon our time together was coming to a close. I will never forget the precious, precious friends I have made throughout my time at UAH. I will treasure these sweet friendships always! We were also able to honor our precious Lexi at pinning, each of us wearing a "Lexi" pin, leaving an empty seat for her, and celebrating her pinning with her parents. She worked just as hard as each of us, and what a blessing it was to be able to remember and honor her. I know she was celebrating right along with us.
A few of us were able to give speeches at the ceremony! I am including my reflections speech below...
Thank you all for coming to celebrate the class of Fall 2021! What a journey it has been, and we want to thank everyone who has made this day possible for us.
I want to begin today by looking at some numbers, because (believe it or not!) nurses do know how to do math! We have spent 848 days together since our first day of orientation. We have taken 10 HESIs and countless exams for our 17 nursing courses. We have gotten through 945 clinical hours, 225 of which were spent precepting. Through it all, I have watched our cohort grow by leaps and bounds. It seems like just yesterday we were terrified of our handwashing validations, and now we are confidently starting IV’s, administering vaccines and performing CPR. I never would have imagined how far we have come.
A reflections speech wouldn’t be complete without some mention of the global pandemic that completely turned our second semester upside down. After all, when we began our nursing journey, the majority of us couldn’t have told you what COVID was! We certainly would not have chosen the challenges we have had to face: getting sent out of the hospital in the middle of clinicals, scrambling to take exams in our parents’ bedrooms, navigating Zoom glitches and breakout rooms, and all the wonderful joys of masking and social distancing. Yet in spite of all of this, I have watched our cohort transform from a group of inexperienced, doubtful juniors to confident, collected seniors ready to face any challenge our nursing career will offer us. Precepting through a pandemic has taught us how to think on our feet and respond quickly to ever changing environments. It has taught us how to become creative with our resources and press on towards our goal with resourcefulness and determination.
If I had to choose one piece of advice that has carried our class through this crazy nursing journey, it would be the power of teamwork. I have never once felt a sense of competition among this incredible group of students. We have laughed, cried, failed, retried, succeeded, and now graduated as a cohort. Whether we have been forming study groups, commiserating over a failed exam, practicing validations for the umpteenth time, celebrating our clinical experiences, or staying up until all hours of the night messaging each other on groupme about how we should be studying, we have all been on this journey together. I couldn’t have asked for a more supportive, encouraging, wonderful group of friends. We have been through so much together, and I couldn’t be more proud of each and everyone of you.
Dr. Gentry told us from our first day of orientation that we might one day take care of each other as nurses. I remember being terrified when I first heard that, but I can now confidently say that I would trust any one of my fellow nursing students to care for me and my family. We have studied countless hours, answered thousands of prep questions, practiced hundreds of clinical skills in the hospital and LTRC, and have given everything we have to become the very best nurses we can be. Let’s never lose sight of how far we have come or forget how many people have supported us from orientation to graduation. Congratulations, class of fall 2021, we did it!!
Critical Care was hands-down my hardest class in nursing school, but my incredible professors (Dr. Thornton and Dr. Aultman) helped me through. I owe so much to these amazing women.
I love you all so very much!!
留言