The Nursing Department conducted its inaugural Honor in Caring event Aug. 19 in the Student Union Building.

Nurses in the BSN class of 2020 and the ABSN class of 2019 participated in the event, which marked their entrance into the realm of clinical nursing with an emphasis upon the professional, ethical and moral responsibilities that nurses have to their patients.

Sixty-two students made their Honor in Caring pledge in the presence of more than 250 friends, faculty, peers and family members. They were subsequently welcomed into their clinical nursing education by two Truman nursing alumni. Vickie Sollars (’85) and Lisa Archer (’87), both of whom are highly respected nurses in the Kirksville community, cloaked the students in their white coats, which serve as an outward symbol of the students’ professional access to the clinical setting.

Another alumnus of the program, Rebecca McClanahan (’75), who is a former member of the nursing faculty, former member of the Missouri State House of Representatives and current vice president of advocacy for the Missouri Nurse Association, delivered the keynote address. She stressed the importance of compassion, character, advocacy, civic engagement, self-care and family caregiving across her long academic, professional and personal nursing tenure.

The initial idea for the Honor in Caring ceremony came from Shiva Felfeli, a nursing student in the class of 2019. She was present at the event, offering a welcome and remarks on behalf of the current senior BSN class.

The department plans to make this an annual tradition that marks the beginning of the students’ clinical nursing education and culminates with the Nursing Pinning ceremony just prior to graduation.