The nursing profession requires you to use not only your hands and head, but also your heart, in the service of patients. This was the message Western Cape Provincial Minister or Health and Wellness, Dr Nomafrench Mbombo conveyed to the very first group of 41 nursing graduates to complete the new Bachelor of Nursing at Stellenbosch University (SU).

Mbombo, a trained nurse herself, addressed the students at a Lamp Lighting Ceremony on the eve of their graduation, where they each received a lamp symbolising Florence Nightingale's pioneering work in the field of nursing. At the ceremony, the group of 41 students also undertook the Nightingale Pledge, which outlines the nurse's commitment to delivering compassionate care.

“This is a very special group of graduates," Mbombo told students and guests at the ceremony. “You are the first group in the country to complete this programme, making you whole-rounded nurses and midwives. I looked at your study programme and was excited to see topic like climate change and advocacy. This is exactly where we need to be going," she said.

Mbombo welcomed the students into the health care system. She advised them to always consider patients within the larger socioeconomic context of the country, and to use ingenuity and science to help overcome the challenges posed by the environment.

“It is an honour for me to welcome you into the very special family of healthcare workers," Prof Elmi Muller, Dean of SU's Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences said in her address to students. “Today you've reached an important milestone – you've successfully completed your training and it's an exciting time as you enter the workforce. There will be challenging times, but it will also be rewarding, because at the end of each day you will know that you've made a difference to your patience – and that's a wonderful feeling."

Bursting with pride, Dr Janet Bell, who led the BNur programme, thanked the students for being the first cohort of nursing and midwifery students to complete the new programme. “We are now at the point where you are going to start living out your learning. We know you are ready to take your place as nurses and midwives in the South African health system, that desperately need you."

One of the new graduates, Ms Jenna-Mari Michau thanked the Department of Nursing and Midwifery for expertly guiding the group through the four-year programme. “We graduates have arrived at our destination. While we pause to look back at the journey that led as here, we now set our sites on the road ahead – a more exciting higher purpose. The new expedition is one where we are entrusted to carry the torch of all that we have learned into the world of healthcare, and to make a difference in the lives of those we serve."

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