Alumni reunite for MUNSON's 50th Anniversary gala and open house

Oct 28th, 2016

Marcia Porter

The school first opened in 1966.
Alumni reunite for MUNSON's 50th Anniversary gala and open house

What happens when you bring almost 300 alumni and friends together in one place to celebrate an auspicious occasion? You get Memorial University School of Nursing's 50th Anniversary gala!

MUNSON's anniversary gala weekend had the best recipe for success - a special evening event that brought together alumni from many class years, along with retired and current faculty and staff. Add a terrific entertainer, Ms. Sheila Williams from Spirit of Newfoundland, some very nice prize give-a-aways and a yummy dinner and you've got memories to last another 50 years!

Awesome Alumni

We thoroughly enjoyed meeting so many alumni and learning where their careers and life adventures had taken them. For example we met five out of six members of the Class of "71, including Norma. Her classmates were proud to tell us about her many accomplishments and awards earned in the United States, where she built her career.

We were also excited to hear about four nursing sisters who all attended MUNSON and made their careers here in Newfoundland and Labrador. The oldest sister Flo started  the MUNSON tradition that continued with her younger sisters. (We would love to have a photo of the four of them together.)

Official Open House and ribbon cutting

Opening our doors to alumni and friends the next day was exciting too, with the unveilling of a new learning space for students, the Cahill Nursing Simulation Centre, made possible with a generous donation from 1979 alumna Mrs. Doreen (Power) Cahill. As an MUNSON graduate, Mrs. Cahill takes a keen interest in the school, and in nursing education and at one time served as a member of our faculty

The official opening of the Cahill Nursing Simulation Room was a highlight of the 50th Anniversary Open House.

The simulation space will provide nursing students with opportunities to practice their clinical skills and knowledge using the most current technology to help them gain expertise working with patients, clients, residents, and family members.

"It gives me great pleasure to take part in the opening of our new simulation centre," said Dr. Alice Gaudine, dean of the SON at the ribbon cutting. "For the past 50 years we have worked to develop new curricula and new ways of teaching to meet the evolving needs of our students. The Cahill Nursing Simulation Centre will give them access to the most current learning technologies and strategies."

The ribbon was also cut on another new space, the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Affiliated Group.  The JBI is based at Adelaide University in Australia and is a world-wide collaboration for conducting systematic reviews of nursing research to translate knowledge into best nursing practice.

"We know that our work associated with JBI and with the new Cahill Nursing Simulation Centre will make important contributions to patient care and student learning," said Dr. Gaudine.

Have a look at photos from the Friday night's gala https://www.facebook.com/pg/School-of-Nursing-Memorial-University-196576727034976/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1616374798388488 and Saturday's open house and ribbon cutting at https://www.facebook.com/pg/School-of-Nursing-Memorial-University-196576727034976/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1624633760895925. You don't have to be a Facebook "member" to see these photos.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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