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Kettering College Holds Nursing Dedication Ceremony

February 7, 2024—Kettering College has a time-honored tradition of holding a Nursing Dedication ceremony for first-year Nursing students. The ceremony signifies the importance of entering the profession of nursing and committing to a life of service.

The ceremony began with a prayer and included a song performed by a group of Nursing students. Students stood to devote themselves to the profession by saying the Florence Nightingale Pledge to “solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully.”

“It is a profession that comes as close to walking in the shoes of Jesus Christ than any other profession.”

-Stephen O’Neal, Kettering Health Chief Nursing Officer

Each student received a lamp to signify the beginning of this sacred journey. As their names were called, they stood and lit their lamps in unity with each other. This class contains several international students, as well as students from the local community, but all have the common goal of becoming a nurse and answering the call of nursing.

Some of our students from Ukraine who participated in the Nursing Dedication ceremony. Photo Courtesy of Yana Bondar.

Guest speaker, Stephen O’Neal, Kettering Health chief nursing officer, encouraged the group of students that, although the upcoming semesters of study will be intense, they will be worth it. He said, “It is a profession that comes as close to walking in the shoes of Jesus Christ than any other profession. Today you are dedicated. Today the hard work starts. Today your future begins….and soon I get to call you ‘colleague.'”

As students exited the auditorium, now officially dedicated to becoming nurses, they received a Bible and a stethoscope to accompany them on their journey to continue their studies and move on to a fulfilling career of caring for others.


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