Nursing Students Celebrate Transition from Classroom to Bedside

During Alumni and Family Weekend, 160 second-year nursing students received their Egan timepieces and affirmed their commitment to patient-centered care.

For sophomore nursing majors at Fairfield University, the next chapter of their education began with a watch, an oath, and a reminder that success in nursing is measured not only in skill but also in kindness and compassion.

The annual clinical initiation ceremony took place at the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts on October 24, 2026, during Alumni and Family Weekend. 

A Rite of Passage Rooted in Jesuit Values

In her opening remarks, Patricia Simino Boyce, PhD, RN, dean of the Marion Peckham Egan School of Nursing and Health Studies, invited students to consider the trust nurses are given and to approach each patient encounter with humility, attentiveness, and a commitment to seeing the person beyond the diagnosis. It was a message she traced back to her first clinical rotation.

During that early experience, Dean Boyce cared for an elderly patient who was hospitalized with an infection. Before the patient returned to his long-term care facility, he thanked her for being kind to him. That simple gesture of gratitude helped shape Dean Boyce’s understanding of nursing.

“That moment taught me that nursing is more than administering medications and following a treatment plan,” she told students. “It is seeing and caring for the whole person.”

“Saint Ignatius taught that love is shown more in deeds than in words. Nursing is that teaching in practice—in the steady hand, the attentive presence, and the small acts of kindness that patients remember long after they leave us.”

Words of Wisdom from a Healthcare Leader

The ceremony featured keynote speaker Anna Cerra, DNP, MSHA, RN, FAAN, senior vice president of Patient Care Services and chief nursing officer at Greenwich Hospital. Drawing upon her leadership experience and personal journey as an immigrant from Italy, Dr. Cerra encouraged the future nurses to lead with empathy, authenticity, and resilience.

She reminded students that technical skill must always be accompanied by compassion at the bedside, “Treat patients and their families as though they were your own,” she said. “Never treat a patient as though they are just a number on the chart.”

Reflecting on the profession’s enduring impact, Dr. Cerra described nurses as tireless patient advocates entrusted with delivering safe, high quality care. She urged students to see their first clinical rotation not only as a milestone in their education but as the beginning of their own contribution to that tradition. 

The Gift of Time and Dedication to the Profession

After students received their Egan timepieces—a traditional gift that honors nursing heritage and modern infection-prevention practices—Meagan Mongovan ’27, senior nursing student and president of the Student Nurses Association, shared stories and lessons from her own clinical rotations.

“As you move through each rotation,” she told the Class of 2029, “you will discover that nursing is a profession of both heart and skill.”

The ceremony culminated with the class standing together to recite the Nursing Oath, affirming their dedication to advocacy, ethical practice, and the Jesuit tradition of serving others.

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