Dean’s Letter

Dear Graduates of 2021:

Congratulations as you complete your education here at Upstate Medical University College of Nursing! You have successfully navigated your next step forward during one of the most challenging times in history, and we are incredibly proud to have you as graduates and professional colleagues. This unprecedented time has called for your continuous acts of commitment, bravery, innovation, generosity of spirit and knowledge that exemplify the greatest and most worthwhile profession in nursing. The past year of your journey has been unique, formative, and memorable. Now more than ever, nursing is an inspirational profession that holds a special status, one which also comes with a special responsibility to always protect and be responsive to those that depend upon us for care. Your actions have demonstrated that you embrace this responsibility.

A decade ago, the Institute of Medicine report called for a doubling of nursing doctorates by 2020 and for 80% of the nursing workforce to be baccalaureate prepared by that same date. As we closed out 2020, our profession did not reach those benchmarks in the suggested timeframe. You may wonder why is this important, and how this may affect your future as a nurse. You are a critically important front line to the healthcare team. Nurses in New York State are leading the way on this very long journey that started with the American Nurses Association (ANA) House of Delegates in 1964. Key stakeholders in the push to baccalaureate entry into nursing felt strongly that in order to achieve positive patient outcomes, the nurse of the future must be prepared to work in partnership with multiple disciplines as a collaborator and manager of complex patients. Additionally, nurses must possess increased expertise and knowledge in navigating the complexity of our health care system, as well as be well prepared to utilize rapidly expanding and evolving technology in the healthcare arena. There is a continuous responsibility that falls upon all of us to reach higher, step forward, and to continue the journey in your professional education.

Those of you who have achieved your baccalaureate or master’s degrees today are inspired to plan for further graduate studies. Those who have achieved your doctoral degree are charged to inspire, encourage and mentor other nurses along the path, growing knowledge, collaboration and innovation. You are all pivotal pieces of the healthcare team, but above all, you are nurses, who have shown in this pivotal time that you stand strong, and stand together. The world will continue to need your leadership and dedication in the years to come to sustain the presence of nursing in our global community, educational environments, and to help solve the problems of the fragmented healthcare system and the challenges ahead. Nurses of the future will need to speak more forcefully and persuasively about the problems that are encountered in every day practice. Speaking out not only about the issues of delivery of care within our organizations but looking to the broader community picture of neighborhoods, states, countries and globally to be heard on the areas of social and political policy that impact the care that nurses provide regardless of their duty station. Nurses represent the largest segment of the healthcare workforce. Your large collective voice has proven that you can indeed move mountains!

I join each member of the Upstate family in wishing you the very best for your future, and ask that you keep in touch with the College as you move forward in your professional pursuits. We are so incredibly proud of each and every one of you and offer our warm congratulations!

Tammy Austin-Ketch, PhD, FNP-BC, FAANP Dean and Professor, College of Nursing