UD Nursing Program to Hold Pinning Ceremony
May 6, 2011 | University of Dubuque Theological Seminary
On Friday, May 13, 2011 the University of Dubuque Nursing Program will celebrate the fifth graduating class of Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) students since the program's reinstatement in 2004, with a Pinning Ceremony at 11:00 a.m. in Steffens Hall of the Charles and Romona Myers Center.
"A well-educated health care workforce serves humankind as a whole," stated Dr. Peg Kerr, UD Nursing Department Head. "Nurses educated at the BSN level are equipped to manage the complexities of the changing health care industry. At the University of Dubuque, our students are prepared to meet the challenges of being at the sharp end' of patient care due to our curricular emphases on quality, safety, information technology, best practices, and focus on the patients and their families."
Twenty-nine students will receive their nursing pin. They are: Lori Bianco (Saint Charles, IL), Tiffany Braun (Grafton, IA), Heather-Mae Bucich (Dubuque, IA), Maureen Cook (Loves Park, IL), Jennifer Davis (Dubuque, IA), Matthew Ellerman (Dubuque, IA), Sara Fassbinder (Dubuque, IA), Erin Frimml (Dubuque, IA), Andrea Gallo (Kenosha, WI), Reena Harris-Whiting (Dubuque, IA), Aimee Hornagold (Madison, WI), Matthew Jahn (Dubuque, IA), Kaylyn Kenkel (East Dubuque, IL), Michelle Lautenschlager (Oshkosh, WI), Abigail Leonard (Eldridge, IA), Suzanne Manning (Dubuque, IA), Michael Marino (Bettendorf, IA), Danielle Miller (Dubuque, IA), Amanda Moeller (Davenport, IA), Rachel Nichols (Mount Hope, WI), Kellie Oppold (Stockton, IL), Hollianne Peters (Brownsville, WI), Jody Pierce (Guttenberg, IA), Nicole Reding (Osage, IA), Michelle Shoppa (Muscatine, IA), Jane Small (Dubuque, IA), Tena Stark (Knapp, WI), Casey Weigel (Plattevile, WI), and Kelsey Wolter (Bellevue, IA).
The Pinning Ceremony is a time-honored nursing school tradition - nursing students have conducted an Honors or Pinning Ceremony as a rite of passage from student nurses to practice nurses. Pinning dates back to 1880 and signifies the integrity and tradition of badges worn by the healers and crusaders of care. Regardless of where their new careers in nursing take the graduates, their pin will represent where they earned their professional education.
Nursing began at University of Dubuque in 1976 and, until 1997, the program offered fully accredited RN-to-BSN and MSN nursing preparation. In fall 2004, the University instituted a pre-licensure BSN Nursing program; in April 2007, this program received national accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE).
