Pinning ceremony a ‘significant milestone’

The previous day, Stephens, 31, worked a 16-hour shift in the emergency room at Bethesda Regional Health Centre in Steinbach, Man. But she said it was important to take in the pinning ceremony and reflect on the hard work that got her to this point.  

“For me it’s a big deal. I have a son and a husband, and I think of having to spend nights studying while I wanted to play or hang out,” she said. “But it’s short-term stress for a long-term award.”

Stephens was one of 110 nursing students to receive their UM nursing pin at the ceremony, which marks the end of the bachelor’s degree program and entrance into the profession. The event was organized by the Nursing Students’ Association. 

Many of the group have already started working in nursing positions, while others are set to take their licensure exams. The class will receive their degrees at UM’s next convocation in June.  

Melanie MacKinnon, executive director of Ongomiizwin – Indigenous Institute of Health and Healing at the Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, told the class that a career in nursing offered more opportunities than she imagined when she graduated from the program in 1996.

MacKinnon has held many distinct roles and received numerous honours in her 30-year career. In 2021, she was named to the Top 100 WXN Most Powerful Women in Canada. Last year she was named an honorary colonel by the Canadian Armed Forces at 435 Transport and Rescue Squadron in Winnipeg.

“When people hear the word ‘nursing,’ they often picture one place, one role, one uniform, one way of showing up. But nursing has never been one thing. As you will come to know, it lives across a continuum, from the clinic to the bedside, from the community to the classroom, from the research lab to the boardroom,” she said. “I am so excited that the future of nursing is in this room.”