Hand Healing and White Coat Ceremony for Cohort 4
SNA would like to congratulate cohort 4 for their achievement and starting a new journey towards their nursing degree.
Background behind the healing hand ceremony:
The blessing of the hands is an ancient Celtic ceremony usually performed in marriage ceremonies. Some say that those in the healing profession also used this ceremony to symbolically denote the healing profession. Some say this tradition goes back to the days of Florence Nightingale, the mother of modern nursing. The hands have traditionally played an important role down through the ages and this ceremony denotes a pledge of faith, sincerity and justice. It is also symbolic of support and strength, power and protection.
The Pledge:
From today forward I will take this journey with my fellow classmates and faculty to learn the skills of caring and healing like many nursing students who have come before me. Human touch is an important component of healthcare. This ceremony symbolically links the art and science of nursing care. These hands will learn how to comfort a crying baby, a grieving family member and a dying patient. These hands will help to bring life into the world and be the last good deed performed at the end of one’s life journey. After a long day in clinical I will reflect on the interconnectedness of my own humanity and the privilege to provide holistic care to my patients.
