Shaping the future of nursing, one new beginning at a time

This fall, Arizona State University and Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation are celebrating a milestone: record-breaking enrollment. It’s a moment that fills us with pride and reaffirms the vital role nursing plays in shaping the future of health care.

As we welcome thousands of new faces into our classrooms, labs and communities, I’m reminded of something important: while this may be your and my twentieth “first day of school” in a university environment, for our students and their families, this is their very first.

The start of a new academic year can feel routine to seasoned faculty, staff and administrators. We’ve ordered the syllabi, polished our lectures, and reviewed policies countless times. Yet for each student stepping into a simulation lab, donning scrubs, or sitting in their first lecture, the experience is entirely new, and often overwhelming. Their excitement, nervousness, and sense of possibility should guide how we show up.

We need to ensure our instruction is not just rigorous, but also infused with enthusiasm. We must meet questions with patience, remembering that a family’s trust in us is profound, and that this may be a season of many firsts - first dorm drop-off, first patient assessment, first clinical rotation. For many students, it’s the beginning of a lifelong calling.

As deans, we are called to set the tone. We are stewards of both excellence and empathy. This year at ASU, I’m asking my teams to approach each interaction as though it were the first time we’ve ever welcomed a student, because for that student, it is.

Our profession depends not only on what we teach, but also on how we inspire. And that inspiration starts the moment a student walks through our doors.

Here’s to another year of shaping the future, one new nurse, one new family, one new beginning at a time.