National Nurses Week Message from Dean de Castro

Today marks the beginning of National Nurses Week (May 6-12)! We honor each one of our faculty, staff, students, and alumni who represent Seattle University College of Nursing so well throughout our city, region, state, and nation. We also beam with pride and optimism of the impact that our immediate next cohorts of nurses who complete our undergraduate and graduate programs will make as they move onto professional practice with brilliance as Redhawk Nurses. And, beyond that, we, of course, pay tribute to all nurses globally who selflessly dedicate their lives to bettering the health and well-being of others.

According to the annual Gallup 2023 Honesty and Ethics poll, nurses remained the most trusted profession for the 22^nd straight year.  While this is certainly worth highlighting, this comes as no surprise to us at Seattle University given our rootedness in the Jesuit tradition which is reflected in the ways we approach educating and inspiring leaders who will transform health care for a just and humane world.

Thinking back on my 31 years across various roles in professional practice and academia, I am reminded of so many moments, big and small, where being a nurse has benefited me as well as allowed me, as Pedro Arrupe, a prior Superior General of the Jesuits, encouraged, to be a person for others. And, every day, throughout our College of Nursing community, I see glowing acts of caring and kindness extended between and beyond our faculty, staff, and students, that power me forward.

To commemorate this year’s National Nurses Week, I share with you two things that brighten my emotions about being a nurse. First, as we gain more distance from and shed, though for some still continue to endure, the struggles, pains, and losses from the pandemic over the past few years, the poem “The Miracle of Morning” (recited radiantly by its author Amanda Gorman here) offers more than a glimmer of optimism as we move ahead with each new day striving to become “… the best of beings” (special thanks to Assistant Dean Marilyn Cope for calling attention to these beautiful words). Second, as a member of the American Nurses Association, I look forward to seeing nurses spotlighted against the backdrop of illuminated city landmarks across the nation through the Nurses Light Up the Sky campaign.

Happy Nurses Week to all, whether already or soon-to-be, nurses!

Butch de Castro, PhD, MSN/MPH, RN, FAAN
Professor and Dean
Robert J. and Mary H. Bertch Endowed Professor in Nursing Leadership