Newest healthcare professionals are prepared to change systems and improve care

They may use their degrees in a variety of locations and fields, but the 665 graduates of the MGH Institute of Health Professions understand the importance of the human element in their work and the need for impactful change to improve care.

At the Institute’s 46th commencement today at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center, graduates from the School of Nursing and the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences heard from school and healthcare leaders on why the time they spent learning was vital.

“You graduate at a time when health care needs your knowledge, your leadership, and your voice,“ said President Deborah Jones at her first commencement since taking the helm in January. "The challenges before us are real, but I look at you and feel great hope."

That sentiment was echoed by Dr. David Brown, president of the academic medical centers for Mass General Brigham, who spoke during the School of Nursing's ceremony. 

“The demand for skilled, thoughtful, adaptable health professionals and health care leaders is not abstract,” said Brown. “It is urgent and growing. It is visible in every part of the system, every day. And it will shape the work you are now stepping into. Put simply, we need you. Not in some distant future – but now.”

Greg Jackson, President and Chief Operating Officer at Spaulding Rehabilitation, told School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences graduates that working in the field is not easy. 

"There will be long days. Hard days. Days that test you. But stay grounded in the mission. Stay centered in the knowledge that you are changing the course of someone’s life," said Jackson. "That transformation often happens in small moments, encouraging a patient to take one more step, climb one more stair, try adaptive sports, when they don’t think they can, helping someone see possibilities when they can’t."

The student speakers during each ceremony spoke of how ready the graduates are to take on the challenges ahead. 

“I believe the most powerful thing we leave with, the thing you’ll never see on a transcript, is the ability to truly listen with curiosity, humility, and care,” said School of Nursing speaker Tiffany Vassel, from the Master of Science, Leadership in Nursing Education program. “We are graduating prepared. Prepared to collaborate, to innovate, to advocate, and to redesign what is not working. To use our skills boldly and creatively.”

Doctor of Occupational Therapy graduate Lauren Kemmer represented a wide range of professions in her speech to the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences about being extraordinary in ordinary situations. 

“We are the professions that live in the in-between,” said Kemmer. “Between illness and independence. Between hospital and home. Between who someone was and who they are becoming. Be the clinician who celebrates the smallest measurable progress. Be the colleague who protects dignity when systems move too fast. We will stand with others in the in-between — until they can stand on their own, recognizing they are extraordinary too.”

The nursing ceremony recognized an extraordinary person. Dr. Paula Milone-Nuzzo, the sixth president of the MGH Institute, was given the title of President Emerita for bringing the Institute to new heights during her tenure. 

The title of Assistant Professor Emerita was bestowed upon Antonia Makosky from the School of Nursing and Mary Riotte from the Communication Sciences and Disorders program.

Two alumni were recognized with awards, including occupational therapist Dr. Loren Fields McMahon, who earned the Emerging Leader Award and physical therapist Michelle E. Collie, who earned the Bette Ann Harris Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest form of recognition awarded to a graduate of the Institute.

Board of Trustee member Dr. John Herman awarded an honorary degree to Ellen Zane, a nationally recognized healthcare executive, having served as Chief Executive Officer of Quincy Hospital, Network President of Partners HealthCare, and as the first female President and Chief Executive Officer of Tufts Medical Center and Tufts Children’s Hospital in its 229-year history. Zane, who served on the MGH Institute Board of Trustees from 1995 to 2007, gave the graduates advice about making an impact in their chosen fields.

"If you don't take risk in your career,  you can be really good at what you do, but you will never be great," Zane told the graduates. "Remember how important it is to take risks. Nobody ever accomplished anything of note without being bold and without taking risk. So, be bold, graduates."