50 years of excellence: NIC program sends grads prepared to help fill nursing shortage
North Idaho College spring 2022 nursing graduates celebrate on stage May 11 in Boswell Hall Schuler Performing Arts Center.
North Idaho College had plenty to celebrate during National Nurse’s Week from May 6 to 12 this year.
The annual recognition and appreciation week coincided not only with NIC’s spring 2022 commencement, nurse pinning ceremony and nursing honor society induction, but also with the celebration of the NIC nursing program’s 50th anniversary.
NIC’s Associate Nursing Degree program was established in 1970 and graduated its first class of 30 nurses in 1972. Beverly Dickens, who was instrumental in the program’s establishment and served as faculty and director throughout her 38-year career at NIC, returned to campus to celebrate the anniversary.
For the 50th anniversary celebration, the college hosted a reunion for nursing faculty, retirees and alumni on campus, as well as guided tours of the Meyer Health and Sciences Building and a cruise on Lake Coeur d’Alene.
Dickens said she hoped 2022 graduates wore their NIC nursing pin with pride during the pinning ceremony on May 11 in Boswell Hall Schuler Performing Arts Center.
“Because of all the (nursing faculty) on this stage and what they have taught you, and because of your motivation to become competent nurses, I am confident that you will carry on the tradition of excellence that was established 50 years ago,” Dickens said. “I thank you for letting me be a part of this pinning ceremony. Nursing − the life work that you have chosen − is not easy and is sometimes a heavy responsibility, but it is always, always a privilege.”
Dara Kimmery, an acute care operations nurse at MultiCare Health Systems who also spoke during the pinning ceremony, said those privileges include fishing marbles out of kids’ noses and inspecting a skin rash for your second-cousin-twice-removed.
“In all seriousness, when you look back over the many years of nursing as I am doing today, you will reflect on your journey of successes, failures, school friends, colleagues and peers,” Kimmery said. “You will find reassurance in the legacy of your choice, your chosen path and your desire to care for others and your community. It connects us back to the altruistic reasons most of us chose nursing as a profession in the first place – to heal, to help and to make a difference.”
The graduates were congratulated by program faculty and staff for enduring through the two-year program despite challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Sometimes we flexed until we thought we would break, but nurses are a resilient bunch and you know what, you made it,” NIC Nursing Division Chair and Director Erlene Picket said. “You will continue to flex and bend in this wonderful profession that you have chosen, and as you come to the end of this chapter, know that we have done our best to prepare you for the next chapter.”
Pickett said the graduates are heading into a workforce that is in the worst shortage that she has seen in her decades-long nursing career.
“Nursing is a dynamic profession. While the shortage is daunting, the opportunities that are open to you are exciting. You’re ready to go on to that next chapter,” Pickett said.
NIC Interim President Michael Sebaaly said the spring graduates join the ranks as some of the finest nurses in the region as NIC alumni.
“The last two years have been crazy. Your commitment to yourself and this community does not go unnoticed,” Sebaaly said. “Thank you for choosing this path, and I wish you the best of luck as you begin this exciting new adventure in your career in healthcare.”
For more information about NIC’s nursing program, contact NIC Nursing Division Chair and Director Erlene Pickett at (208) 769-3278 or Erlene.pickett@nic.edu.
Story by Megan Snodgrass mpsnodgrass@nic.edu
Photos by Kyle Dishaw kyle.dishaw@students.nic.edu
Posted: Friday, May 20, 2022
