On June 1, the American Career College-Orange County campus welcomed more than 130 guests to witness the time-honored tradition of the vocational nurse pinning.
"The Career Services department partnered with the VN faculty and staff to provide this wonderful moment to celebrate our nursing students' achievement," ACC-Orange County Student Services Director Valerie Dickson said.
It was standing-room-only as the 28 dedicated VN students were initiated into the ranks of professional nursing. Friends and family crowded into the back of the classroom as Germaine Felix, ACC-OC’s VN clinical coordinator, lead the cohort in reciting the Florence Nightingale nursing pledge to uphold the professional and ethical standards of their field and received their ACC pin.
The Nightingale pledge is a statement of the ethics and principles of the nursing profession. It included a vow to "abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous" and to "zealously seek to nurse those who are ill wherever they may be and whenever they are in need."
"It was such an excellent event for our VN graduates who have worked so hard to fulfill their requirements of graduation," ACC-OC Career Services Director Johnny Lacey said. “The Career Services team is now ready to help them get to the next step of their journey, which is passing their NCLEX and becoming successfully employed as licensed vocational nurses.”
