Lamplighting Ceremony honors new nursing students

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Nursing welcomed sophomores and their families during its second annual Lamplighting Ceremony held recently in the Younger Auditorium.

Sue Lindner, assistant clinical professor in the Department of Family and Community Health Nursing, greeted students on behalf of faculty and alumni. Jean Giddens, Ph.D., dean of the School of Nursing, reviewed the significance of the lamp in nursing, tracing it to modern nursing founder Florence Nightingale, who treated British soldiers during the Crimean War and was dubbed “the lady with the lamp” after her habit of making rounds at night. Michelle Jump, senior class leader, shared information on opportunities for students to get involved in the school beyond the classroom.

The event concluded in the school’s garden, where students lit candles and formed a line in front of the wall that holds the cornerstones from the nursing dorms of the MCV and St. Philip Schools of Nursing. The schools merged and then combined with the Richmond Professional Institute to become the VCU School of Nursing in 1968.

The traditional bachelor’s program in nursing at VCU begins in the sophomore year.

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