Obstetric nurse Dr Jacqueline Thaw has encouraged Northern Caribbean University (NCU) nursing students to make their mark in the healthcare system by demonstrating empathy, selflessness, care and values within the profession.
Dr Thaw, a 1982 NCU alumna, delivered the keynote address at the institution’s Nurse Capping and Dedicatory Ceremony held on October 19, 2022 under the theme Revolutionising Healthcare through the Minds of Future Nurses. She spoke to 73 sophomore nurses, among whom was one male, along with their families and other supporters.
The capping ceremony marks the stage in the training of student nurses
when they begin their clinical exercises and further embark on the road to becoming professionals in the field of nursing. Recounting her own experience, Dr Thaw stated that the capping ceremony exceeded her graduation ceremony.
“My capping ceremony was more significant than my graduation because it was at that point that I decided and sealed that commitment to become a nurse,” she related.
Shaw also emphasised that the cap is a symbol of “humility and nobility”. Therefore, as future nurses, the students should make an active effort to be the change agents in healthcare. She had high commendations for the Bachelor of Science in Nursing programme at NCU, which was the first institution in Jamaica to offer the Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1970.
It is her belief that the university continues to provide invaluable practical lessons that could be used anywhere in the nursing field. Shaw, who is based at the Hackensack University Medical Center in the United States, stated that the NCU nursing degree carries weight overseas.
The NCU alumna further advised the nursing students that it takes a resilient person to be able to care for others while going through one’s own challenges. “Life will throw you many challenges. A resilient person will seek to receive a setback as a learning opportunity,” she said.
The capping of the sophomore nurses was met with resounding applause by parents and well-wishers. The air of exuberance became more prominent when the sole male nurse, Rushawn Morgan received his certificate of capping. A highlight of the ceremony was when the administrative assistant for the nursing department, Erica Fearon, was surprisingly recognised for her service to the nursing students.
The ceremony ended with the lighting of lamps as a tribute to a pioneer of nursing, Florence Nightingale. This tribute resonated with Dr Shaw’s ending statement in her address: “Go light your world and revolutionise healthcare!”
In their fourth year, nursing students at NCU would be pinned upon graduation and would be eligible to register as professional nurses by sitting the Regional Examination for Nurse Registration (RENR).
Written by Zania McNish, Junior Reporter/CCMPR
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