DATE: January 14, 2010
CONTACT: Robin Hutchinson Bell
Director of College Relations
Mount Carmel College of Nursing
614-234-1372/cell: 886-1825
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Fairfield Medical Center and Mount Carmel College of Nursing Celebrate First Sophomore Pinning for Collaborative Nursing Program
Record Number of Students Receive Gold Pins to Mark Transition to Patient Care
Columbus, Ohio…Mount Carmel College of Nursing (MCCN) is meeting the challenge of the nurse shortage by educating tomorrow’s nurses. On January 10, a record number of MCCN sophomores participated in the College’s traditional Sophomore Pinning Ceremony which included 20 members from MCCN’s first satellite campus in Lancaster, Ohio.
“This ceremony is symbolic as the recognition of our students’ hard work and perseverance; as the celebration of a significant turning point in nursing education, and as the presentation of the ‘lamp pin,’ which heralds this new adventure for our sophomore nursing students,” says MCCN President/Dean, Ann E. Schiele, PhD, RN.
“The significance of the pinning ceremony to the Fairfield Medical Center's first class is that it clearly demonstrates that this is one MCCN class with all the Mount Carmel nursing history, traditions, strengths, and expectations. The depth and breadth of the MCCN nursing program is the same no matter where the classes are held or clinicals experienced,” says Cynthia Pearsall MSN, RN, Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer, Fairfield Medical Center.
Historically, the pinning ceremony was the first official donning of the “student nurse” cap and uniform, marking the beginning of clinical education when student nurses start caring for “real” patients. Today’s student no longer receives and wears a cap, but rather an engraved pin, reminiscent of the lamp carried by the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale, as she cared for wounded Crimean War soldiers 150 years ago.
This modern ceremony for MCCN’s 143 sophomore nursing students characterizes the spirit of caring modeled by Ms. Nightingale and represents the ministry that these aspiring nurses now undertake. Upon graduation in 2012, the class comprised of both Columbus-based and Fairfield Medical Center nursing students, will receive a MCCN graduate pin to replace the gold lamp pin.
The Mount Carmel College of Nursing at Fairfield Medical Center program, a collaborative effort among MCCN, Fairfield Medical Center (FMC), and Ohio University-Lancaster, delivers the same nursing education in the Mount Carmel tradition of excellence, at a location convenient to the Lancaster, Ohio, area. “This is a milestone event because we celebrate the very first pinning ceremony with our students in the MCCN program at Fairfield Medical Center,” says Dr. Schiele.
ABOUT MOUNT CARMEL COLLEGE OF NURSING
Mount Carmel is a specialized institution of higher education, offering the following programs: Bachelor of Science in Nursing, Master of Science in Adult Health, Nursing Administration and Nursing Education, Dietetic Internship, and an Online RN Refresher Course. The College also has a satellite facility in Lancaster, Ohio, called Mount Carmel College of Nursing at Fairfield Medical Center, which was established in 2008. Mount Carmel has one of the largest baccalaureate nursing programs in the State of Ohio and is affiliated with the Mount Carmel Health System. Founded in 1903 by the Sisters of the Holy Cross, the main College campus is located at 127 South Davis Avenue in Columbus, on the campus of Mount Carmel West Hospital. For information about our programs, visit HYPERLINK "http://www.mccn.edu" www.mccn.edu or call us at 614-234-5800.