UMFK nursing students receive pins
FORT KENT, Maine — Nursing students at the University of Maine at Fort Kent were honored by fellow professionals during the Nurse Pinning Ceremony Friday, May 9, 2015, in the Fox Auditorium, and 29 were inducted into the Nursing Honor Society.
The theme of the ceremony was aligned with the American Nurses’ Association, 2015 National Nurses’ Week theme: “Ethical practice. Quality care.”
The afternoon began with inspirational words from Dr. Erin Soucy, Director of the Division of Nursing and Allied Health.
Maine State Board of Nursing, Executive Director Myra Broadway, JD, MS, RN gave the featured keynote address. As Executive Director, Broadway has worked to distinguish Maine as a leader in many nursing initiatives and works to serve the state’s nurses, whether they serve in clinical practice, education, or administration. She has held this position since 1998.
Dr. Tanya Sleeper, assistant professor of nursing, introduced the nursing students for induction into the Nursing Honor Society.
Honorees from the local area included: Katelyn Beaulieu, Grand Isle; Chantel Bernier, Frenchville; Stephanie L. Dube, Eagle Lake; Amy Durland Faulkner, Easton; Faye Kimball, Westfield; Heather Montgomery, Caribou; and Kathryn Sharp, Mapleton.
All students have excelled in the four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing program at UMFK and are active in campus activities. Each student received an honor cord to wear at graduation and a membership certificate.
The UMFK Nursing Honor Society formed in the spring of 1998 for the purpose of recognizing and fostering academic excellence and scholarship among students, alumni and community leaders in nursing. Students with a grade point average of 3.0 or above, in the top 30 percent of their graduating class, and who represent the attributes of scholarship as defined by Boyer (1990) and Sigma Theta Tau, the International Honor Society for Nursing, were eligible for induction.
To begin the Pinning Ceremony, Soucy thanked the following institutions for supporting the graduates during their clinical courses, as well as offering them a setting in which to complete their preceptorships: Acadia Hospital; The Aroostook Medical Center (TAMC); Bartlett Regional Hospital (Juneau, Alaska); Calais Regional Hospital; Cary Medical Center; Central Maine Medical Center; Down East Community Hospital; Eastern Maine Medical Center; Franklin Memorial Hospital; Lakewood Continuing Care Center; Maine General Medical Center; Maine Medical Center; Northern Maine Medical Center (NMMC); Pen Bay Medical Hospital; St. Joseph Hospital (Bangor, Maine); Southern Maine Medical Center; and Waldo County General Hospital.
Because the UMFK Nursing Division relies heavily on the hospitals in the region, the organizers presented plaques to Cary Medical Center; NMMC and TAMC.
Dr. Jenny Radsma, professor of nursing, honored Skyla J. Hamilton-Holderman of Jackson, Wyoming, and Carole Richards of Madawaska with the Student Nurse Citizenship Awards, honoring the diligence, manners, responsibility, conscientiousness, and thoughtful involvement characteristic of exemplary citizens.
In an effort to recognize the outstanding achievement of nursing students in their contributions to undergraduate research, the division of nursing has established an award. Senior students, whether as individuals or as groups, may earn consideration for this award for coursework completed as part of the nursing curriculum demonstrating the student’s or team’s excellent academic ability and scholarly understanding; sophistication, originality, and unusual depth and breadth of the project work; ability to use complex research tools such as primary resources, databases, and specialized databases; exceptional ability to locate, select, evaluate, and synthesize relevant and evidence-based literature from multiple sources.
This year’s Undergraduate Research Award went to the team of Kelly J. Bell of Presque Isle, Kelsey Ferris of North Vassalboro, Travis Norsworthy of Fort Fairfield and Heather Pelletier of Woodland. The group identified a particular health need among low-income residents in Aroostook County, assessed the hurdles and challenges these people and their children experience, and wrestled with strategies to resolve this problem that adds to the cost of health care in our state and the nation.
The 2015 Distinguished Nursing Alumni Award, which goes to a nurse who displays accomplishment in the profession as well as a commitment to his/her community through volunteer service and humanitarian efforts, was presented to Soucy, a 1995 graduate of UMFK.
The 2015 Community Leader Award went to Broadway for her efforts to help Maine be recognized as a leader in nursing regulatory practices.
Bell addressed the senior class. She spoke about the nursing students’ determination and perseverance; the nursing program’s faculty support and encouragement; and shared a few of her personal memories.
Radsma then awarded pins to the bachelor of science in nursing students, including the following from the local area: Timothy Bair of Caribou; Bell, Presque Isle; Angela Davis, Houlton; Miranda Donovan, Marsardis; Megan Dube, Eagle Lake; Gaige Flewelling, Houlton; Caitlin Fowler, Woodland; Travis Norsworthy, Dylan Ouellette and Jennifer Pinette, Caribou; Krystal Paradis, Frenchville; Carole Richards and Tory Rouse, Haynesville; Kevin Smith, Blaine; and Katie Thuotte, Monticello.
