Georgetown University Tau Chapter

Tau Chapter Newsletter Spring 2008

December nursing graduates gather in Gaston Hall for the completion ceremony. Michael Relf, chair of the Department of Nursing, speaks at the podium

NHS Celebrates December Nursing Grads On Saturday, Dec. 15, NHS celebrated the achievement of 85 students who finished their bachelor's and master's degrees in nursing during the fall 2007 semester. Twenty-nine students earned a bachelor's degree through the university's accelerated, 16-month "second degree" program. And 56 completed master's degrees through the Family Nurse Practitioner Program, Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Program, Nurse Anesthesia Program, Nurse Midwifery Program, and Critical Care Nurse Specialist Program. The day began with a "blessing of the hands" ceremony for the Nurse Midwifery Program, held in St. William's Chapel on Georgetown's campus. "Midwifery is...a service to women and to families that has been going on since the beginning of mankind," said Carolyn Gegor, director of the nationally ranked program. Eunice "Kitty" Ernst, president of the American College of Nurse-Midwives, also attended. She studied with the late Mary Breckinridge, founder of the Frontier Nursing Service--the first organization in the United States to use nurses qualified as midwives. "I want you to know that you have been beautifully prepared to be nurse midwives," Ernst said. Ernst then told the nine graduates what Breckinridge once said to her, "Go forth, my child, and take care of mothers and babies." Also at the event, Georgetown became the first school to use Ernst's very own wedding spoon for the blessing of the hands. Later in Gaston Hall, all of the program graduates, school faculty, and proud families and friends gathered for the official completion ceremony. Student speakers from the various programs were selected to address the crowd. "We have accomplished great things," said Tracy Fulkerson (NHS'07), a second degree graduate. "We chose to challenge ourselves to become the best nurses we can." "This," she said, "has been a journey of discovery and caring."