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May 12 marked International Nurses Day, and the Department of Nursing, College of Medicine and Healthcare, Yuan Ze University, held its First Capping Ceremony. Under the witness of faculty members and parents, 42 nursing students donned the nurse’s cap symbolizing responsibility and professional commitment, officially embarking on the crucial stage of clinical practicum.
The ceremony not only represented an important milestone in students’ professional nursing education, but also signified a new chapter in the development of nursing education at Yuan Ze University.
The ceremony was honored by the presence of Chang-Chieh Lan, Deputy Director of the Taoyuan City Government Department of Health, who affirmed Yuan Ze University’s active commitment and achievements in cultivating nursing professionals. In her remarks, Chiu-Ling Lu, Vice President of Yuan Ze University, encouraged students that upon entering clinical practice, they should not only possess professional knowledge and technical skills, but also maintain empathy and humanistic care, becoming nursing professionals who could truly accompany patients and uphold the mission of safeguarding life.
During the capping ceremony, students participated in the symbolic Light-Passing Ritual, representing the inheritance of the nursing spirit and the continuation of Florence Nightingale’s mission of safeguarding life. As the audience sang the Nightingale Song together, the atmosphere was warm and deeply moving, touching many parents in attendance. The moment students put on their nurse’s caps also symbolized their formal assumption of the solemn responsibility of caring for and protecting life.
A nursing student surnamed Lin shared that when she received the candlelight and donned the nurse’s cap, she felt the weight of being entrusted with life for the first time, and came to realize more deeply that nursing was not merely a profession, but a mission of companionship and protection. Another student, surnamed Li, noted that during the light-passing ritual, seeing the flame passed from senior students and faculty members one by one allowed her to feel the continuity of the nursing spirit, further affirming her original aspiration to pursue a career in nursing.
A nursing student surnamed Yang also shared that at the moment she received the candlelight and wore the nurse’s cap, she deeply felt the responsibility she was about to bear in caring for life, and gained a stronger understanding of the professionalism and mission of nursing. She emphasized that capping was not merely a ritual, but a symbol of officially stepping onto the path of safeguarding patients. Another nursing student, surnamed Lin, added that the ceremony reaffirmed her original motivation for choosing nursing, especially during the light-passing ritual, where the continuous transmission of candlelight reminded her to accompany every patient with empathy and a strong sense of responsibility in the future.
Representatives from several medical institutions were also present to show their support, including Su-Chen Yang, Director of the Department of Nursing at Far Eastern Memorial Hospital; Mei-Jung Wu, Associate Director of the Department of Nursing at Wanfang Hospital; Mei-Hung Yang, Chief of the Department of Nursing at Landseed International Hospital; Chia-Chun Hsu, Head Nurse of the Emergency Department at Tien-Sheng Hospital; and Chin-Hui Huang, Supervisor at Hsinchu City Mackay Children’s Hospital. Together, they witnessed this significant moment for the first cohort of nursing students at Yuan Ze University, demonstrating the strong partnership between the University and clinical medical institutions in cultivating nursing talent.
Ying-Hua Su, Director of the Department of Nursing, stated that compared with traditional nursing education models, the Department of Nursing at Yuan Ze University had developed with “Smart Healthcare × Humanistic Care × Interdisciplinary Integration” as its core distinctive features. Leveraging the University’s strong foundations in engineering, information technology, and AI, the Department was committed to cultivating a new generation of nursing professionals who combined solid professional competence, technological literacy, and human warmth. She noted that future nursing professionals should not only be clinical caregivers, but also possess the ability to understand, apply, and participate in the innovation of smart healthcare in response to the rapidly changing medical environment and the needs of an aging society.
Director Ying-Hua Su further emphasized that the Department of Nursing would continue to deepen its distinctive features in smart healthcare, humanistic care, and interdisciplinary education, cultivating talent with core HEAL competencies—Humanity, Expertise, AI Integration, and Leadership. Through this approach, students would not only become nurses but also indispensable professionals in the future healthcare system, embodying both professional value and innovative capability, and faithfully carrying forward the mission of safeguarding life.
