As the Dean of Nursing and Allied Health at Oregon Coast Community College I have the privilege of witnessing something truly special every day: nurses, nurse educators, staff, preceptors, clinical partners, and students who continue to serve with heart, grit, compassion, and purpose.

Nursing is never easy work. It asks a great deal of you physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually. Yet you continue to show up — for your patients, your students, your colleagues, your families, and your communities. In rural healthcare and rural nursing education, that commitment carries an even deeper meaning. You are not only caring for individuals; you are helping sustain the health and future of entire communities.

This week, I want to personally thank each of you for the many ways you make a difference. Thank you for teaching with patience, leading with integrity, advocating with courage, and caring with compassion. Thank you for the long days, the extra effort, the difficult conversations, the quiet encouragement, and the countless moments of service that often go unseen but are never without impact.

To all of the nursing faculty and nursing preceptors: thank you for the extraordinary work you do in shaping the next generation of nurses. Your role is complex, demanding, and deeply meaningful. You are not only teaching content — you are modeling professionalism, clinical judgment, ethical practice, compassion, accountability, and resilience. You meet students where they are, challenge them to grow, support them through difficult moments, and help them begin to see themselves as nurses.

To the nurses in our community: thank you for being the steady hands, calm voices, critical thinkers, and compassionate hearts that patients and families depend on during some of the most vulnerable moments of their lives. You carry an incredible responsibility, and you do so with strength, skill, and grace. Your work is often fast-paced, emotionally heavy, and physically demanding, yet you continue to provide care that brings comfort, dignity, safety, and hope.

To our students: thank you for choosing nursing and for answering a call that will ask much of you, but will also give your life deep meaning and purpose. Nursing school is challenging. It requires sacrifice, discipline, perseverance, humility, and courage. There will be days when you feel confident and inspired, and there may also be days when you question whether you are strong enough to continue. Please remember that growth happens in those difficult moments when we are questioning ourselves or are uncomfortable.

Nursing is more than a career. It is a legacy of service, strength, and humanity. I am deeply grateful to be part of this work with you, and I am proud of the role our nursing program plays in building the future of healthcare in our region. In our rural communities, the role of the nurse is especially meaningful. You are often caring for people you know, families you have grown up alongside, or patients whose lives are closely connected to your own community. That kind of nursing requires not only clinical excellence, but also deep compassion, professionalism, and resilience. Please know that your service matters. The difference you make may not always be recognized in the moment, but it is felt by patients, families, coworkers, students, and the communities you serve.

Happy Nurses Week, and thank you for all that you do.

Dr. Bowman

Dean of Nursing & Allied Health