Jump to navigation Skip to Content
TCAT Dickson’s Clarksville campus holds pinning ceremony for practical nursing grads
by: Janine Wine
Communications and Marketing Coordinator
TCAT Dickson
Clarksville, TN: Sixteen Practical Nursing students from Tennessee College of Applied Technology – Dickson’s (TCAT Dickson’s) Clarksville campus were recently pinned in an age-old ceremony honoring their accomplishments and signifying the completion of 1,296 clock hours of instruction and hands-on clinical experience.
TCAT Dickson President Laura Travis welcomed graduates and their families to the ceremony saying the pinning ceremony was one of her favorite parts of being the president. “My background is in nursing, and I still remember my pinning ceremony. Of all my accomplishments, it is still the one I am most proud of,” Travis said.
Completing the Practical Nursing program in a year was no easy feat for this group of graduates. TCAT Dickson’s Director of Nursing and Healthcare Careers Stephanie Murphy addressed the group and their families during the ceremony explaining the students had endured sleepless nights, spent countless hours studying, and cared for many demanding patients while learning to be nurses.
Each student enrolled in TCAT Dickson’s Practical Nursing program spends a year studying math, nutrition, pharmacology, medical/surgical nursing, maternity nursing, and mental health in addition to spending nearly half of their total hours in clinical settings where they receive hands-on training in local healthcare facilities caring for actual patients.
Students test frequently to make sure they are retaining the information and those tests are challenging. “All nursing questions can be a bit difficult. There is more than one right answer. The best way to describe the answers to the questions is which orange is the most orange,” Murphy explained.
Four students were acknowledged for having met the criteria to be accepted into the National Technical Honor Society. Jonathan Marchese, Ester Kamene Opio, Justine Marie Schwarz, and Shontel Renae Smith all maintained an A average, attended at least 95 percent of their total school hours, and were nominated by their instructors for this honor.
Student Shontel Smith received the Highest Academic Average Award while student Sierra Crosby received the award for Outstanding Clinical Performance.
President Travis congratulated each graduate as Practical Nursing instructors Teresa Kinney and Misty Gann pinned each with a pin featuring an image of an oil lamp which represents the lamp carried by Florence Nightingale and is the symbol of hope and comfort nurses bring to their patients.
Students were also presented with a lit candle symbolizing the passing of nursing knowledge from one generation to the next, and a copy of the Nightingale Oath which the class recited in unison at the conclusion of the ceremony.
TCAT Dickson offers Practical Nursing programs at three locations including the main campus in Dickson, and extension campuses in Clarksville and Franklin.
TCAT Dickson is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution, is accredited by the Council on Occupational Education, and complies with non-discrimination laws: Title VI, Title IX, Section 504, and ADA. Located on Highway 46 in Dickson, the technical training college also has extension campuses in Clarksville, and Franklin. Additional information about the school is located at www.TCATDickson.edu.
Front Row from left - Instructor Misty Gann, Jayce Fuqua, Jordan Joiner, Adella Burton, Tykeria Alexander, Phallen Montague; Second row from left - Instructor Teresa Kinney, Meah Hamilton, Esther Opio, Justine Schwarz, Ashley Rodriguez; Third row from left - Director of Nursing and Healthcare Careers Stephanie Murphy, Tiffany Torian, Jullia Salinas, LaMya Thompson, Jonathan Marchese; and back row from left - Sierra Crosby, Anaiya Darden-Thomas, and Shontel Smith.
Pictured from left - Instructor Teresa Kinney, Instructor Misty Gann, Shontel Smith - Highest Academic Achievement Award winner, Sierra Crosby - Outstanding Clinical Performance Award winner, Director of Nursing and Healthcare Careers Stephanie Murphy, and TCAT Dickson President Laura Travis.
TCAT Dickson Director of Nursing and Healthcare Careers Stephanie Murphy
TCAT Dickson President Laura Travis
TCAT Dickson Clarksville Campus Practical Nursing Class of 2024 Pinning Ceremony
