“Above all, be kind.”

Dr. Urban was one of my favorite professors in nursing school and we were fortunate that she was the speaker at the Pinning Ceremony, arguably more important for nurses than commencement. Dr. Urban had shared the agonizing story of her son’s battle and death by cancer in our final med-surg class and it was profound for all of us because we saw her as mortal and vulnerable. I now think she knew exactly this and provided us one of the first experiences we would have as nurses. At Pinning, she spoke about the power of being kind, that nursing is grounded in science, and we have a long and proud history but that above all—be kind. It has remained a reminder to me to have compassion when it’s hard and was one of the reasons I realized I had to take a break from nursing when I was burnt out and was afraid I would lose the capacity for kindness. Always—be kind.