Go Light Your World! ‘Lamp Lighting Ceremony’ of CCN and KRSMC Nurses
140 new batch of Nursing Students of 20th Batch of City College of Nursing (CCN); and 14th batch of Kaikere Rukmini Shetty Memorial Nursing College (KRSMC) belonging to the City Hospital Charitable Trust and Nandavan Education Trust located a Shaktinagar-Mangaluru took part in “Lamp Lighting Ceremony” on Tuesday,11 December 2018.
“No man, not even a doctor, ever gives any other definition of what a nurse should be than this – ‘devoted and obedient’. I attribute my success to this – I never gave or took any excuse. I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words; they ought all to be distilled into actions which bring results. The very first requirement in a hospital is that it should do the sick no harm. To understand God’s thoughts one must study statistics… the measure of his purpose. There is no part of my life, upon which I can look back without pain.”-Florence Nightingale
Mangaluru: Quoting words of Jonathan Lockwood Huie-“Grant that I may radiate Thy Light, Thy Love, Thy Healing, Thy Joy, and Thy Peace to all those around me and all those in my thoughts this day and evermore.”- Tuesday, 11 December 2018 will go down in the memories of City College of Nursing, and Kailkere Rukmini Shetty Memorial Nursing College, as 140 nursing students of the First batch (80 students in CCN and 60 students in KRSMC) took part in the lamp lighting ceremony. Essence of lamp lighting ceremony, an auspicious occasion in every nurses life is held in reverence to Florence Nightingale or Lady with the Lamp as she is more popularly known, this ceremony initiates the students into the noble profession of nursing, who were adorned in their uniforms for the first time, and these students hereafter will study and practice in actual medical surroundings.
Florence Nightingale would tell you, Nursing is a noble profession. It’s all about caring, self-sacrifice, and a whole lot of patience. Yes. Nursing is a freaking hard job. But if you forget about how big (or small) your salary is and focus more on what you can offer to suffering patients, you will always enjoy coming to work everyday. You are the hospitality of the hospital. You are the heart of the hospital. Nurses lead very demanding lives. Working with doctors, healing patients and educating the communities are just a few of the responsibilities nurses perform on a daily basis. In fact you could say that nurses are the backbone of our healthcare care system, providing us with the attention and medical care that we need to live health long-lasting lives. Sometimes being a nurse can be exhausting at times, but the knowledge and power to help heal others is what keeps them going in challenging times.
They can be small steps but its impact can be experienced in giant leaps. Today students of this two nursing Institutions are making a new beginning through the lighting of candles. It is a symbolic act of the light that shines within your hearts. The lamp lighting ceremony was held on 11 December 2018 at the Heera International School auditorium-Shakthinagar here, where the 140 novice nurses received the light from the guest of honor Prof Chithra -Principal, Unity College of Nursing-Mangaluru, along Dr K.Bhasker Shetty- President of City Hospital Charitable Trust; Principal of City College of Nursing & City Institute of Nursing-Prof. Ashwin Bromeo J; Principal of K Rukmini Shetty Nursing College-Prof. Rajeshwari; and Dr Roshan Shetty and Dr Rohan Shetty – Trustees. Welcome speech was delivered by Ms Rajeshwari, while the essence of the day was briefed by Prof Ashwin Bromeo J.
Guest of honor Prof. Chithra emphasizing the significance of the nurse’s white uniform and the power of nurses, in her speech said, ” Nursing is a dynamic and challenging profession, it plays an important role in providing care to humanity. Health is a right of every human being. Science and technology is playing an important role in the present times and we have to upgrade to the modern times. There is no recession in nursing jobs, we should be thankful to all the parents for supporting the children to take up nursing as profession and also novices for taking the challenging profession. There is a high demand for nursing in the world now, so upgrade your skills. You all have made the right decision by joining the nursing career. Grow in your profession and I wish all the success for the future endeavours. “
” Leaders become great not because of power, but through character, determination and courage- and one example is Dr Bhasker Shetty, the president of Nandavan Education Trust. He is a role model to all of us to come up in our life and achieve success. Be proud, for you have stepped into a field wherein you can do immense good to humanity and always offer your contribution to relieve pain and suffering in the world. Also that you joined a very good institution which will provide the right education and training that you need in this field. Through this field you have responded to God’s call and accepted this noble profession. As I congratulate you, I want you to be more self motivated, and you can make a difference in this profession only if you possess sufficient knowledge, adequate skills and proper attitudes. Try and work hard to become a nurse with good knowledge, Good skills and perfect attitude- then only you can serve the community” added Prof Chithra.
In his presidential remarks, Dr Bhaskar Shetty said, “In the days of Florence Nightingale, the flame of candle was used to light her way as she made her rounds to the sick and injured. The bright flame today has come to symbolize knowledge, enlightenment, experience and hope. It will drive away all negativity that darkens everything. This flame lightens everything with hope and positivism. Lighting a lamp is not just lighting up a flame but instead it is lighting up a ray of hope and love. Always follow in the footsteps of Florence Nightingale. You all have taken up a great profession to serve humanity. To be a good nurse you need to study hard, concentrate on your nursing subjects, be thorough in your practicals, attend classes regularly, and only then you’ll come out in flying colors. You are the backbone of health care”.
“Even though most of you come from Malayalam speaking family background, but you need to learn English, so that you can communicate with the patients in this town. English is very important language in your nursing field to communicate with everyone, since it is a universal language At our institution you are all like our family members. You have all taken up a very professional career to love and serve the sick. Keep up the good work that you all entrusted with, and God will surely bless you. Have a successful nursing career during the next four years. At the beginning you may feel lonely getting away from your parents an family members- but we are here to comfort and provide you all the strength, love an care from our side” added Dr Shetty.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Ms Linette Veigas-Asst lecturer-CCN, while the formal program was professionally compered by Ms Sushmitha-Asst lecturer at Rukmini College of Nursing student; and cultural programme was compered by Miss Sandra James, nursing student III B Sc. The formal function ended with mind-blowing dances and songs by the talented senior nursing students, who unleashed their hidden talents thereby mesmerizing the audience gaining loud applaud. It was indeed a glittering and glamorous “Lamp Lighting Ceremony” well organized.
In conclusion, in my perspective, when all 140 of you lit the candle during the Lamp Lighting Ceremony, First of all the light that shines is a reminder of the darkness outside. We live in a world where human rights are being violated. We live in a world where the elderly are being forgotten. We live in a world where children make friends through social media rather than face to face. It is in this context that we need to understand your role in the nursing profession. You need to have a big picture of the suffering of people. It is not just physical illness that trouble people. More often it is the loneliness and the feeling of being deserted by friends and family that hurts people more.
So first of all you need to realize that there is darkness out there and you are called to shine your little lights in this darkness. Secondly, the light that shines speaks about hope. You are called to do little acts of kindness which kindle hope in the heart of a patient. It can be a smile. It can be a kind word of encouragement. It can be a timely help. Or it can even be a pat on the shoulder or holding hands for a moment. Yes, God has chosen you to be angels of encouragement. Dag Hammarskjold the former UN Secretary General said, “Constant attention by a good nurse may be just as important as a major operation by a surgeon!”
So to all you budding nursing students, today you are stepping into a new role. You are going to carry with you a ray of hope with you wherever you go even when life gets too busy and personal difficulties crowd out your day. Finally, the light that shines is about burning out for others. There is without doubt a selflessness in the profession of nursing. You are called to put others first. “As a nurse, we have the opportunity to heal the heart, mind, soul and body of our patients, their families and ourselves. They may forget your name, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”-these are the words of the famous author Maya Angelou which will have a guideline for your life’s work. Today, you lit the lamp. In doing so, you also remembered Florence Nightingale, The Lady with the Lamp, who gave nursing such a highly favourable reputation. As far as you are concerned the light that shines is not about the pay cheque you take home; it is more about the countless number of lives of individuals and families you touch every day. It is about hope and cheer, of comfort and strength; a restoring of health and wholeness. May God give you wisdom and strength and the resolve to be such angels. May people find heaven very near in you!
Click here to View More Photos
Ending this column with the lyrics from the song “Go Light Your World” by Kathy Tracolli on YouTube:
