Sophomore nursing students at Seton Hill University were handed stethoscopes last week during a ceremony that welcomed them to the clinical stages of their education.
Sixteen students wearing red and black scrubs were honored during the second Stethoscope Ceremony in Cecilian Hall. It was the first ceremony held in-person after the covid-19 pandemic forced last year’s event to be held online. The ceremony marks the students’ transition from the classroom to a nursing lab and, eventually, into a healthcare setting.
“I think it’s an awesome experience,” said student Brayden Henninger, 19. “I’m going to get a stethoscope. It really feels like my first step in becoming an actual nurse. It’s exciting.”
The event comes more than a year after nurses were thrown into the spotlight and viewed as heroes as the pandemic spread and people were forced to stay in their homes. It also comes as hospitals across the country grapple with a nursing shortage that began in 2012 and has been amplified as covid cases continue to surge.
On Wednesday, families and friends filled seats that were spaced apart.
Attendees and students were required to wear face coverings given the size of the event.
“I’m honestly ecstatic, more than thrilled,” said student Casey Gatto, 19. “I think this is just such a wonderful opportunity for us to be given. We all worked really hard for it.”
The event attracted big names among Western Pennsylvania health care, including Daniel J. Wukich, founder and CEO of Quest Healthcare Development and for whom Seton Hill’s nursing school is named, and Helen Burns, senior vice president and chief nursing officer at Excela Health.
During her speech, Burns warned of several traps that could appear along the students’ path to success, as well as advice for them moving forward.
“You are here at a time when you could not be needed more, and I will tell you that I’ve been in the business for a long time,” Burns said. “No time in my career have I been so aware that nurses are so valuable yet so unavailable. So please, keep going.”
In addition to those in health care, Seton Hill University President Mary Finger offered words of encouragement to the students as they begin the next phase of their education.
“Over the past 18 months so much in our world has changed,” Finger said. “The covid-19 pandemic has brought to the forefront the critical role that health care workers, particularly nurses, play in society. Nurses can’t choose remote options. They are there for their patients on some of the darkest days of their lives … offering comfort, hope and love.”
The ceremony ended with students reciting the Nightingale Pledge, which states they will practice nursing with integrity, as well as several other commitments.
“Celebrating the good things while covid is going on, I think, is really special,” Henninger said.