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On Nursing
Jacqueline Fawcett, PhD, FAAN
Professor, College of Nursing and Health Sciences
University of Massachusetts Boston
Keynote address presented at the Convocation sponsored by the Bringing
the Best to Nursing Program, College of Nursing and Health Sciences, University
of Massachusetts Boston, September 24, 2003
“Nursing's story," declared Martha Rogers, one of
my all-time nurse heroines, “is a magnificent epic of service to
humankind. It is about people: how they are born, and live and die; in
health and in sickness; in joy and in sorrow" (Rogers, 1966). Nurses,
Martha went on to tell us, develop and use knowledge that "brings
with it increased capacity for meaningful service (Rogers, 1970, p. xi).
I am honored by this opportunity to welcome you to the world of nursing
and nursing stories. I will do so by sharing just a little bit of my nursing
story--of my 39 glorious years of being a nurse. Those years have been
filled with fabulous opportunities to contribute to the health-related
quality of life of individuals, families, and communities, through direct
practice; practice through teaching and mentoring of undergraduate, master's,
and doctoral nursing students; and practice through research with students
and colleagues. I share this brief glimpse of my career so that you might
begin to write and live your own stories of the many ways in which you,
too, can contribute to the health-related quality of life of those people
who come to you for nursing.
Being a nurse is hard work, no matter what career path you select. You
will be continuously challenged to fulfill and even exceed your potential
as you progress through your nursing studies. Being a nurse also is an
honor. We are continuously honored by the people who need nursing when
they allow us to enter their lives and help them to fulfill their potential.
They know that we know how to help them. They know that we care about
them, no matter how busy we are.
I have discovered over the years that we can convey our nursing knowledge
and our authenticity in caring whenever and wherever we interact with
people. Virtually everyone I meet even causally or know well knows that
I am a nurse. A nurse is who I am. Certainly I, like all of you here today,
have many roles. Currently, I am the wife of John; the mother of our cats
Matinicus, Acadia, and Lydia Dasher; the niece of Mabel; the sister of
Charles and Andrea; the aunt of Christine, Robert, Michele, Stephanie,
Eric, Michael, Bobby, and Richard; and a Trustee of the Maine Maritime
Museum and the Waldoboro Public Library. But above all and first of all,
I am a nurse. My passion for nursing was kindled when I was a baccalaureate
student. That passion turned to a roaring fire as I progressed through
master's and doctoral studies and has continued unabated into the
present.
I ask you to continue to feel the passion for nursing that brought you
to our College. I ask you to honor the knowledge that makes up the science
of nursing, the art of nursing, the ethics of nursing, interpersonal relationships
of nursing, and the policies and politics of nursing by fully engaging
in learning that knowledge and then applying what you have learned as
you interact with people. I ask you to always think theoretically as you
practice. I ask you to document your practice so that you will contribute
to the databases that will enhance our understanding of nursing's
contributions to the health-related quality of life of all people, especially
our underserved and previously unserved populations.
And, so, as you who are members of our Bringing the Best to Nursing community
of student-scholars, and you who are members of the communities of student-scholars
in our other programs, progress through the baccalaureate curriculum,
never forget that “nursing's story is a magnificent epic of
service to humankind. …[And, never forget that the mission of nursing]
is the translation of [nursing] knowledge into human service" (Rogers,
1966).
In closing, I urge you, as Dorothea Orem, another of my all-time nurse
heroines, urged all nurses, to "Have the courage to take a position
about why people need nursing and about what nursing can and should be"
(Orem, 1995, p. 414). Be the best nurse you can possibly be, and bring
that best self to nursing.
I wish you much success and the joy that comes from a sustained passion
for bringing the best to nursing. Thank you.
References
Orem, D. E. (1995). Nursing: Concepts of practice (5th ed.). St. Louis:
Mosby.
Rogers, M. E. (1966). [Nursing's story.] New York University's
The Educational Violet (June).
Rogers, M. E. (1970). An introduction to the theoretical basis of nursing.
Philadelphia: F. A. Davis.
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