The school graduated its largest-ever undergraduate class Friday, December 14 with 145 students from the accelerated bachelor of science in nursing (BSN) and registered nurse to BSN options receiving GW Nursing pins during a ceremony recognizing their entry into the nursing profession.
“It’s only fitting to do a little self-diagnosing,” student speaker Danyelle Fournier told the crowd. “So I present to you fall 2018 graduates, showing signs and symptoms of tremendous relief, related to nursing school ending as evidenced by sitting here, smiling, at the pinning ceremony.”
One of GW Nursing’s newest faculty members Dr. Richard Ricciardi, who is also president-elect Sigma Theta Tau International, nursing’s honor society, served as keynote speaker for the event.
“You will not regret becoming a nurse,” Dr. Ricciardi told the graduates. Nursing allows its practitioners the privilege of meeting people where they are, he said, citing examples of nurses showing new parents how to care for their baby or kneeling to look an Alzheimer’s patient in the eye.
Dr. Ricciardi also reminded students of the great responsibility that comes with joining the health care workforce. “Health care is disorganized, it’s fragmented, but you’re going to fix all that because it has to be fixed in the next generation,” he said.
Visit GW Nursing’s Facebook page to watch the pinning ceremony in its entirety or see more photos.