Eighteen Kent State University Salem Campus nursing students will be ushered into their field by someone who has reached the apex of the profession.
Barbara Durand, a 1955 Salem High School graduate and former dean of Arizona State University's College of Nursing, will participate in the students' pinning ceremony, an important part of the graduation process.
"At the pinning ceremony I will be talking with the graduates, but in talking with them I really want their families to know what they've accomplished," she said. "I want them to know how glorious nursing can be and how much of a positive impact they can have on people."
Specifically for the graduates, Durand said, "I will call on them to go forward and practice as they have been prepared and know that their practice is very important."
She said the students must have competence and courage because they will often come to situations where they know best and they must stand by it. She also said the students will face many new ethical challenges and that nurses are trusted above any other professionals so they must live by their code of ethics.
In addition to the pinning ceremony, KSU spokeswoman Ruth McCullough said Durand would be available for an open forum 1 to 2:30 p.m. May 7 in Room 101 at the Salem Campus. Area nursing students have been invited to attend and hear Durand answer questions about the field.
"Especially since this is Barbara Durand, who has so much time in the field, accomplished so much and is so well respect, our students are going to be inspired by her," she said.
A Changing Field
As the students leave school and enter into the nursing field, they can expect some big changes during the next five to 10 years, especially with an aging population.
"People are living longer so there's going to be more and more demand in the field," Durand said. "Most patients, who aren't just very sick, will be treated in hospices, community clinics and other forms of community-based care facilities.
Durand also said the students will face the constant need to upgrade their skills, especially in information technology as it becomes even more important in the field.
As an example, Durand cited the fact that within the next 10 years it is likely medical records will be stored digitally, rather than on paper.
Another, non-technology-related, change that will likely come to the field is an increase in the number of nurse practitioners - nurses with at least a masters degree and veryspecific skills. Durand said she expects about 80 percent of the Kent State nursing students to eventually become nurse practitioners.
"They [nurse practitioners] have more independence to practice, more advanced skills and are more likely to work in hospitals," Durand said. "In the future, they may also become primary care providers."
Durand has been an advocate for nurse practitioners since the 1970s and collaborated in founding the first pediatric nurse practitioner program in California. She later went on to direct that program for many years.
In 1999, Durand received a lifetime achievement award from the Nurse Practitioner Journal.
Durand, whose mother Pat Durand was the second director of the Hannah E. Mullins School of Practical Nursing, said she was really looking forward to returning to Salem. Since graduating and moving away, Durand has risen in the nursing field, completing a number of impressive professional accomplishments, including serving for six years on the board of directors of the Ambulatory Pediatric Association. She holds the honor of being the only nurse ever elected to office in the association.
"Pediatricians have been the most accepting of nurse practitioners," Durand said. "They opened their membership up and I joined and was later elected to the board of directors, serving as the secretary-treasurer."
Durand will speak of her accomplishments and help to motivate area young people entering the field.
"I'm glad Kent State is offering nursing in Salem and made this accessible," she said.
