Pinning speech

On Tuesday I have to give a speech for my classes Pinning ceremony. I'm horrible at writing speeches and far better at improved humor. I'm guessing that is why my class asked me to present. This is a rough draft that I will most like adjust in the next few days. I may put in more more items that were funny about school as well as an introductory quote. If anyone reads this and feels like helping with constructive criticism I'd welcome it.

My Pinning Speech

I’d like to think our family and friends who are here tonight to share in this tremendous achievement. You have shown us all a great deal of patience, love, and understanding while we have been in this program. Over the last two years you have seen us when we have been stressed, worried, upset and exhausted. You have been our sounding board when we gave you an ear full about school, you’ve given us tissue when we cried and you helped with a quick joke when we struggled to smile. For that I feel it is appropriate for us to both apologize for what we put you through during that time and to thank you for allowing us to lean on you when we needed the support to follow our dreams of becoming a nurse. I am positive that if it was not for you all we would not be here today.

I would also like to thank our instructors for giving us the tools necessary to become nurses while dealing with us when things were not going well for us. You have shown us all what it means to be a great nurse through your positive role modeling. Thank you all very much!!

Last I would also like to thank my peers who chose me to speak tonight as it is an incredible honor to represent such a wonderful group of people. I am not only happy for myself but also for all my classmates who've made this journey with me. I cannot tell you all how much it has meant to take this trip with such a great group of people.

Who would have thought how quickly two years of our lives could pass by. It seems as if it was just yesterday when we sat across campus with our hearts racing, wide eyed and not realizing what to expect. In the days and weeks ahead it didn’t take long for us to realize the tough road we had ahead of us. And there was nothing we could have done previous that would have helped us understand.

Nursing school is like having two full time jobs. One you spend at a desk the other you work on your feet. It is both labor intensive and time consuming. Needless to say it left us all short on sleep and long on exhaustion. Which made us wonder if it would be possible to be given Espresso, IV, set to run continously at 30ml/hr.

Nursing school is not for the faint of heart. However if you have the strength to endure you will become so much more than what you started as. We have all become more efficient through careful assessment of our surroundings as well as our patients. We have learned to maintain professional distance by keeping our “patients and family out there and never in her.” We have learned things we never thought we’d be capable of doing such as inserting a Foley or NG tube or starting an IV. We have over come boundaries which we were uncomfortable with previously by “reframing our thinking”. And, when things just became too much we learned how to “let it go.” We are no longer “Giant Oaks fighting against the wind we are now willow trees who sway to and fro with the winds of change.”

Over the last two years we have seen each other at our best and our worst. We have discovered that we are capable of change and adaptation and we have pushed ourselves beyond what we thought was posible all while going to school and living our lives outside of class. During that time we have seen friends come and go. We have had friends who’ve lost loved ones, who have givin birth and who have struggled with relationships. Yet through it all we did not allow that to stop us. Each day we took another step forward never letting in or giving up and through this we have developed life long memories and friendships which will last a lifetime.

Because of our wonderful education and shared experiences I’m positive now that we will all be great nurses who will make a profound and meaningful difference in the lives of each patient we care for. In closing I would like to share a quote which I feel is appropriate for this occasion;

Congratulations!
Today is our day.
We are off to Great Places!
We are off and away!

We have brains in our head.
We have feet in your shoes.
We can steer ourselves
any direction we choose.

We are now on your own. And we know what we know.
And WE are the ones who'll decide where to go.

We're off to Great Places!
Today is your day!
Our mountain is waiting.
Let’s get on our way!