Annual 'Hands of Caring Ceremony' Welcomes New Students to UH School of Nursing
More than 200 future nursing professionals, their families and their professors gathered for the annual 兔子先生 School of Nursing 鈥淗ands of Caring Ceremony.鈥� The event is the official welcome for new students to the School of Nursing鈥檚 Second Degree BSN program, an intensive one-year program for students who already have degrees in other areas, but want to become nurses.
More than a gathering, the ceremony underscores the significance of the hands that care for us: our parents, our friends, our professors, our community, our donors and our health care professionals.
鈥淭his special ceremony emphasizes the many ways these students have been supported by caring hands and how they will support others as nursing professionals with their own caring hands,鈥� said Kathryn Tart, founding dean of the School of Nursing.
During the ceremony, new students stand in a circle, their family and friends form an outer circle and their professors the inner circle. They鈥檒l first hold hands with their family and friends, the first hands that supported them as they grew from infant to child to adult. Next they鈥檒l shake hands with their professors who will guide them through studies, simulation practice and clinical rotations. Finally, they鈥檒l hold the hands of their fellow students, who will be their colleagues through school, new careers and a lifetime of friendships. Then, with hands held high, they鈥檒l pledge to use their hands in care for those who are vulnerable, who are ill and who are struggling.
鈥淭heir hands will care for people throughout their lives. That鈥檚 a privilege, and we are privileged to have them here at the UH School of Nursing,鈥� Tart said.
Friends and families toured the School鈥檚 Simulation Lab, a multidisciplinary, hospital-based center providing hands-on clinical simulation training in a realistic environment. The lab consists of high-fidelity simulators that include Sim Man, Sim Baby and Sim NewB to simulate real-life clinical scenarios. The state-of-the-art facility offers a clinical setting where nursing students and health care professionals train through simulation, observation and debriefing for real-life clinical crises.
In a presentation, Tart shared information regarding demographics of the 2017 class. Students entering the rigorous, year-long program have degrees in other areas, but have chosen now to become nurses:
- 76 percent have a Bachelor of Science; 16 percent have a Bachelor of Arts
- 3 percent of the class have master鈥檚 degrees
- 15 percent of the students are male
The majority of student received their degrees from higher education institutions in Texas. Eight percent received degrees from out-of-state institutions.
The School of Nursing also boasts a diverse class of students:
- 23 percent Asian
- 22 percent Hispanic
- 11 percent African American
- 42 percent Caucasian
- 2 percent Native American
The School recently was awarded the Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award from INSIGHT into Diversity Magazine.
The UH School of Nursing is one of the inaugural programs at the UH Sugar Land Campus. The School of Nursing offers the RN-BSN program, a master of science in nursing and a Second Degree BSN program for those who have completed a university degree and want to become a nurse. Visit uh.edu/nursing or 832-842-8220 for more information.