Nurses Week always coincides with Marquette University’s Finals Week. Although finals always come with some stress, this week is truly a time to celebrate our future nurses. Ending the week with our Commencement ceremony feels appropriate. Hundreds of new nurses are joining the profession, and they do it after having displayed the traits and abilities that Nurses Week was created to recognize: compassion, selflessness, skill and courage.
The first year in our new building, David A. Straz, Jr., Hall, has nearly come to an end as well. This building has enabled us to serve our college community in new and exciting ways. From additional study areas to expanded simulation space, Straz Hall makes it possible for us to educate nurses at scale. We spent a lot of time working with our campus and external partners to make sure the physical space in Straz encouraged productive relationships between members of our nursing community. I’ve been gratified to see that come to life.
While the building is a boon to our college, it is only useful because we have paired it with the right people. More than 1,400 students across four levels of education put in long hours to learn how to be a Marquette Nurse each day, demonstrating a commitment to our values of critical thought, advocacy for the vulnerable, care for the whole person, courageous leadership and championing of social justice. They are the biggest asset we have.
That is why the theme of this year’s Nurses Week at Marquette is “Excellence at Every Level.” Starting tomorrow and going through this week, you will see examples across our social media of how nurses in our BSN, DE MSN, APRN and Ph.D. programs contribute to the profession in distinct ways. Hopefully, you will see what I see when interacting with our students: a group of people dedicated to creating positive change for the community and for the profession.
I’m excited to hand hundreds of nurses their diploma this weekend, secure in the knowledge that each one of them will Be the Difference in their own way.
Sincerely,
Jill Guttormson
College of Nursing Dean
