Alumni Celebration 2010
A Well-Received Welcome Back Reception
For the second year in a row, FPB held a fun, casual cocktail reception the Friday evening of Alumni Celebration weekend. This year, more than 75 guests packed the first floor of the Wolstein Research Building, FPB’s across-the-street neighbor on CWRU’s Health Sciences Campus.
Guests enjoyed catching up with former classmates and faculty while sampling a bounty of lavish sweets and tasty delights (many were fond of the plump chocolate-covered strawberries). Adding to the ambience of the spirited event were the jazz sounds of saxophonist David Kay and pianist Shanelle Cook.
“It’s great to be back,” said Ruth Dorsey Carey, BSN ’60, a retired public health nurse from Michigan. “Before the reception, a classmate and I toured the campus to see all that’s changed. We miss our old dorms but it’s great to see many new sights. So much is happening here! ”
Carey was one of 21 alumni in attendance to celebrate their 50th reunion. Conversations with members of the class of 1960 were a special treat for more recent alumni, as well as current FPB faculty and staff. In addition to discussing how FPB has changed over time, some of those chats evolved to broader commentary on how the field of nursing has changed and what it will look like in the future.
“Nursing education has become so much more responsive to the needs of students over the years,” said Carrie B. Lenburg, MSN ’60, BSN ’58, Distinguished Alumna ’90, and AAN Living Legend. “There has been much innovation in delivering courses in distance and online formats.”
Byrd also believes that not only has nursing education adjusted to meet the demands of students, it’s been modified as well to accommodate the increasingly more complex world of health care.
“Nurses today need to learn how to not only utilize technology, but manage it,” she said.
“We also know so much more about medicine today,” adds Dorothy Paulsen Smith, MSN ’60. “Our understanding of human health is much greater and so is the role of the nurse.”
Despite advances in technology and the expanded scope of nursing practice, Dr. Smith maintains that there’s something more personal which remains at the core of nursing.
“All in all, nurses still go into the field because it’s in their heart,” she says.
And it’s that heart—the passion for patient care and service—that resonates among FPB alumni of all generations. It certainly did during the reception, as guests stayed until the end of night laughing, taking pictures, and celebrating the field of nursing and their time at FPB before boarding trolleys to nearby hotels. The celebration continued throughout the weekend.
