Final year Nursing students finish their degree in a commitment ceremony in the Cathedral

On 2 July, the new graduates in Nursing, from the Institute of Health Sciences, Porto Regional Centre, made their traditional professional commitment in the Cathedral, after a Eucharist of Thanksgiving presided by the Bishop of the Diocese, D. Manuel Linda. The ceremony was attended by 28 finalists and their families, teachers, representatives from partner institutions and the Ordem dos Enfermeiros, and also by Isabel Vasconcelos, vice-rector of Universidade Católica Portuguesa, and Isabel Braga da Cruz, pro-rector of Porto Regional Centre.

The professional commitment, commonly recognised as the "Nightingale Oath" since the end of the 19th century, is usually pronounced upon entering the profession. The text currently used, with minor adaptations, is the one proposed by the Ordem dos Enfermeiros and summarises the duties included in the current Code of Ethics. As a sign of sending off, the Bishop of the Diocese of Porto blessed the hands of the finalists who, after receiving the lit candle, uttered the professional commitment in one voice before all those present.

Throughout the ceremony, the need for nurses to always promote a competent care based on knowledge and focused on the care and dignity of others was repeatedly emphasised. After the introduction of the rite of commitment, Paulo Alves, Director of the Nursing School - Porto Regional Centre, also emphasised the need for each new nurse, in light of Pope Francis' words, to be an expert in Humanity. It is based on these values that the School of Nursing, of the Institute of Health Sciences, of the Porto Regional Centre of the Universidade Católica, assumes the mission of promoting teaching and research of excellence that contributes to the growth and development of students to their full personal and professional potential.