Marywood University’s Department of Nursing Holds First Blessing of the Hands Ceremony

Marywood University’s Department of Nursing Holds First Blessing of the Hands Ceremony

SCRANTON, PA—Marywood University nursing students initiated a new tradition on campus, participating in a Blessing of the Hands ceremony as they prepare for clinical practice. This inaugural ceremony, held in the Marian Chapel, Swartz Center for Spiritual Life, on the University’s campus, honors sophomore nursing students who will begin to apply their classroom studies to direct applications in the field. Junior and senior nursing students also participated in this first ceremony, which begins a new tradition at Marywood.

Sr. Anne Munley, IHM, president of Marywood University, and Barbara S. Higgins, Ph.D., APRN, FAANP, were among the faculty and administrators who welcomed and addressed nursing students, families, and friends.

For the ceremony, Sr. Anne Munley, IHM and Sr. Catherine Luxner, IHM, blessed the hands of nursing faculty members, who in turn blessed the hands of nursing students and other caregivers among the guests. “The ceremony recognizes the tremendous work undertaken by nurses and the sacredness that they bring to patients, their loved ones, and to our community,” said Dr. Higgins.

.  Pictured are faculty and students from the department of nursing at Marywood University.

First row (left to right)

Theresa Tulaney, MS, RN, GCNS-BC, assistant chair of nursing, clinical faculty; Deanna Cavallaro, Staten Island, N.Y.; Ashly Lenzer, Gouldsboro, Pa.; Charlotte Caskey, Warwick, N.Y.; Maureen Royce, Bushkill, Pa.; Christina Hernandez, Dickson City, Pa.; Katye Trexler, Harrisburg, Pa.; Michael Nigro, Smithtown, N.Y.; Mary Ann O’Brien, MSN, RN, CCRN, CNE, clinical instructor; and Cheryl Burke, nursing lab manager.

2nd row (left to right)

Kathleen Healy-Karabell, DNP, RN-CNS, CSN, assistant professor of nursing; Judith Williams, Ph.D., MSN, MS, RN-BC, assistant professor of nursing; Stephanie Holohan, Scranton, Pa.; Kristina Grennon, Lake Ariel, Pa.; Lillian Applegate, Carbondale, Pa.; Samantha Flynn, Brookfield, Conn.; Natalie Wasko, Scranton, Pa.; Alyssa Marmo, Old Forge, Pa.; Kerry Cantreva, Scott Township, Pa.; Emily Foster, Mechanicsburg, Pa.; Elizabeth Galioto, Tobyhanna, Pa.; Jamie LaPointe, Scranton, Pa.; Adrian McClendon, Clarks Summit, Pa.; and Barbara Higgins, Ph.D., APRN, FAANP, chair of Marywood University’s department of nursing.

For more information on the nursing program at Marywood University, please visit www.marywood.edu/nursing or call 570.348.6275.