Mangaluru: A lamp-lighting and oath-taking ceremony was held for nursing students from the Father Muller College of Nursing at the Convention Centre on Thursday, January 2. The ceremony sought to induct the 62nd batch of GNM students and 33rd batch of BSc Nursing students into the college’s educational programme.
The chief guest of the event was Manipal College of Nursing Professor Dr Sonia R B D’Souza. FMCI Director Fr Richard Aloysius Coelho presided over the programme.
The programme commenced with a prayer song followed by the lamp-lighting ceremony. With an outstretched right hand, students recited the oath and pledged to dispense the utmost care and compassion for their patients.
Addressing the gathering, Dr Sonia said, “I would like to congratulate the students for two things: first, for choosing nursing as a profession and secondly, for choosing Father Muller College of Nursing as a graduating institute for your career path. Twenty years ago, I was a student here and I had never imagined that I would be invited as a chief guest for such an event.”
She further suggested an ‘I CARE 2’ mantra for the student nurses to follow. Elaborating on it, Dr Sonia said, “As nurses, we call ourselves the noblest of the health professionals. You should have empathetic qualities and be willing to listen to the patients as well as their families.”
In his presidential address, Fr Coelho stated that the nursing profession was regarded as the most trustworthy and respectable profession in the USA and the rest of the world. He said, “It is said that constant attention by a nurse may be just as important as a major surgery carried out by a surgeon or a doctor. It is not enough to be just a nurse, but vital to be a good professional nurse who has a lot of confidence and willingness to learn procedures.”
FMMC Administrator Ajith Menezes, FMMCH Administrator Fr Rudolph Ravi D’Sa, FMSON Principal Jasmine Vas, nursing faculty, and parents were present at the ceremony.
