It’s May, and May is National Nurses Month—a time to celebrate, but also to reflect, imagine, and plan. Look up! May raises our gaze, serves a feast for our senses, and cajoles us out of the ordinary. Look around! We, as nurses, are encircled, surrounded, and nourished by such a gracious and thoughtful community of colleagues. Look ahead! We are creating a future of equitable, holistic healthcare by educating the next generation of nurses and focusing our commitment to social justice and advocacy. But also look inside--self-care, recognition, professional development, and community engagement are the four weekly focus areas of this year’s National Nurses Month.
The tulips, lilacs, daffodils, dogwoods, and cherry blossoms that raise our spirits have humble origins— roots, soil, rain, sun—and often grow and bloom despite challenging conditions. We learn of strength, persistence, and resilience from nature’s patterns—and we see those qualities in our colleagues wherever we look. We must realize that those qualities also live within ourselves; during National Nurses Month, let’s celebrate all that we are and all that we give.
Here at the IHP School of Nursing, we have much to celebrate and much to give. It is my privilege to serve as your Dean; I am grateful to work with you to optimize everything we do and identify ways we can continually improve. Celebrate this: we provide a first-rate education and exceptional mentorship to prepare our next generation of nurses, advanced practice providers, nurse educators, and leaders— and we do so in ways that inclusive, committed to our JEDI principles, and grounded in cutting-edge nursing science. We, the faculty and staff at the IHP, join hands with our alumni and the many skilled and talented nurses in the Mass General Brigham system and beyond to provide first-rate learning experiences for our students in a diversity of clinical settings. We can only do what we do so well because of those essential partners, all of whom are critical to our collective strength. We especially thank those faculty and preceptors who oversee experiential learning opportunities for our students while improving health and saving lives.
As we prepare for Thursday’s Commencement, we should reflect on new beginnings; after all, “commencement” means beginning – a welcome reminder of the new opportunities moving to the next chapter represents for us all. While this week marks a transition from school to career for our graduating nurses, it also offers a chance to reset and refresh before embracing the future. We have so much to be proud of as we send them forth to be lifelong learners and empathic professionals; their commitment to increasing health equity is truly inspiring.
Our School continues to thrive and be recognized as a top program in New England and across the nation with impressive rankings from U.S. News and other evaluators. These accolades represent external recognition of our growth and sustained excellence. But what is much more important to me is that our internal benchmarks for success are so strong—a culture of belonging, a commitment to continuous improvement, and a focus on the best education possible in a collegial and supportive environment.
Join me in gratitude for all we’ve accomplished this year, from our ability to redefine learning in an unpredictable world to our national reputation and collaborative environment. Through it all, we— faculty, staff, and students—have shone brightly, rallying together to support one another, deepening our relationships, expanding our horizons, and launching new programs.
Always your biggest fan,
Ken