*NMCN registrar, Onasoja charges graduands on ethics, law, compassion
Trinity University, Yaba, Lagos, has ushered 53 Bachelor of Nursing Science (B.N.Sc.) graduates.into the health sector to boost healthcare delivery across the country.

The event took place at the 3rd induction and oath-taking ceremony held at the institution’s Celebration Arena.

The milestone ceremony brought together academic leaders, health sector dignitaries, regulatory authorities, parents, and clinical preceptors to celebrate the official transition of the “Invicta Set” (Class of 2026) into the global nursing workforce.

Delivering the keynote address, Head, Department of Nursing Sciences, University of Ilorin, Prof. Abolore Olayinka Onasoga, declared nursing to be a sacred trust and a lifelong obligation to protect human life, preserve dignity, alleviate suffering, and promote health.

Addressing the inductees, Prof. Onasoga emphasised that nurses encounter individuals at their most vulnerable moments, making personal character, clinical competence, integrity, and ethical judgment the true measures of professional success. She detailed the three interconnected pillars of nursing practice: ethical conduct, legal responsibility, and professional accountability.

“The ethics guide your moral decisions; the law establishes your enforceable obligations. For you to practice nursing safely, you need both ethical judgment and legal standards,” she stated, emphasising that ethics and law are inseparable in clinical care.

She urged the inductees to ground their practice in eight fundamental ethical principles: Autonomy, Beneficence, Non-Maleficence, Justice, Human Dignity, Fidelity, Veracity, and Confidentiality. Emphasising veracity, she cautioned against offering false assurances to terminally ill patients due to personal or religious sentiment, advocating instead for evidence-based care delivered with radical honesty and compassionate support.

Administering the professional oath, the Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN), Dr. Ndagi Alhassan, admitted the 53 graduates into the Council’s Register as Registered Nurses (RN).

“The induction of graduate nurses is a mandatory activity that marks the receiving of fresh graduates into the profession. It is after being inducted that your name is entered into the Register of the Council officially, which accords you proper recognition to practice anywhere around the globe,” Alhassan declared.

Dr. Alhassan, who was represented by Head, ICT Unit, NMCN, Prince Olaniyi Filade, charged the polyvalent nurses to employ the systematic nursing process, assessment, diagnosis, care planning, implementation, and evaluation, to deliver holistic, evidence-based care.

He further urged them to maintain full personal accountability for clinical decisions, observe strict social media decorum, avoid unethical or charlatan practices, and actively participate in the Nursing Now Nigeria campaign and the National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM).

Vice Chancellor, Prof. Clement Kolawole commended the graduates and reiterated the university’s mission to produce globally competitive healthcare professionals.

“Your induction today is a covenant to serve humanity with compassion, to uphold the dignity of life, and to stand as a beacon of pe at the bedside of the sick and vulnerable,” Prof. Kolawole remarked, charging the new nurses to uphold integrity, pursue continuous learning, and demonstrate deep empathy.

The Acting Dean, Faculty of Nursing Sciences, Olaide Animashaun, reminded the inductees that their rigorous education was designed for a higher purpose: caring for human lives.

“Behind every diagnosis is a person. Behind every hospital bed is a story. Behind every frightened patient is a family hoping that someone will care, and sometimes, that someone will be you,” Ms. Animashaun noted, encouraging the set to lead and innovate across clinical practice, research, administration, and public health.

Speaking on behalf of the graduating class, Valedictorian of the Invicta Set, Esther Oluwajoba Lasisi, expressed deep gratitude to the university leadership, faculty, parents, and preceptors. Reflecting on their class name (Invicta, meaning “unconquered”), she highlighted their resilience through demanding lectures, clinical postings, and examinations.

“We came to Trinity University as students; we leave as nurses. We came with dreams and uncertainties; we leave with knowledge, purpose, and courage,” Nurse Lasisi declared.