Keynote address given to Temple University's Nursing Department

White Coat Ceremony
Keynote Address
Temple University, Philadelphia, PA
August 27, 2026

Acknowledgments

• Dean Jenn Ibrahim

• Amita Avadhani

• Lisa Slinkard

• Nursing Department Leadership And Faculty

• Temple Nation

• Family Members & Guests

• Honorees

o  ABSN Students

o  BSN Students

o  DNP Candidates

Thank you for the kind introduction. I’m honored to be with you and a part of today’s event

Temple is an important part of my life, as is the College of Public Health and the Nursing department.

Today, I’d like to talk about timelines. Nurses, and those of you on this path, likely use timelines to critically think through and solve problems.

We also use timelines to figure out where we are, and more importantly, how it is we got here.

Let me quickly begin with my timeline.

(slide one)

This is the Class of 1958 from Scranton State General Hospital’s Nursing program. I knew most of these nurses…and their children. A few were contemporaries of mine here at Temple.

Fifth row down, first on left, Bette Lee Saville’s son, Matt was a long-time baseball teammate and roommate while I was at fox, and he was in law school.

Class officer, on far right, treasurer Theresa Falzone’s daughter, Kathy, was a classmate of mine at Fox, working on her MBA in healthcare administration, and her husband, George, was my family physician until his death in 1984.

Bottom row, fourth in from right, is my mom, Ann Davis.

(slide two)

Mom was a first-ballot hall of famer.

Her nursing career spanned 53 years. She worked in every sector—acute care, long-term care, home and community based services, occupational health, and late in her career, behavioral health.

She helped deliver most of my elementary and high school classmates and was a mentor to hundreds of student nurses and new grads in northeastern Pennsylvania.

You know, I love your SIM lab and what it has to offer. Patrice and I had the opportunity to visit it earlier today, and the possibilities to build skills and confidence is a difference maker for students

(slide three)

This was Mom’s SIM lab at “the State”…that man inside the oxygen tent is pretty sick. And there’s no smile on that faculty member evaluating Mom’s technique.

It was like this for three years. Class was from 7:00 in the morning until 2:00 in the afternoon, then work in hospital—on evening or night shift, then back at it the next day.

Academic standards were high. One “C” and you were done. Mom got very good grades, though Nutrition nearly got her bounced.

Students had to live in the dorms, which were attached to the hospital, with a dorm supervisor. If a student were sick and couldn’t work a shift, the “Dorm Mom” grabbed whoever they were most pissed off at and they were probably working a double.

Time off for nursing students was same as hospital employees, which equated to 4th of July, Christmas, thanksgiving and weekends.

My first visit to a nursing home was in 1966. I was four.

Mom was an evening supervisor, and my brothers and I were tucked into room 101, right across from the nursing station.

Twelve years later, mom became director of nursing at this home, and I was a weekend and summertime housekeeper.

In 1986—twenty years after my first ever visit—I became a licensed nursing home administrator in the state of Pennsylvania, just months before graduating with my MBA here at Temple.

(slide four)

In 2006 – to celebrate Mom’s 50th anniversary in Nursing, I endowed the Chair of the Nursing department here at Temple. This is a picture from the Chairman’s Circle event at the Four Seasons. Big night. Lots of smiles. A few Budweisers and Old Bushmills after.

2026 is the 20th anniversary of this gift to Temple Nursing. It is a source of great pride and has changed the lives of many—including mine.

In May of this year—70 years after mom started her nursing career, 60 years after my first ever nursing home visit, and 40 years finishing here at Temple, I published a book, Bedrails and Bingo: Myths, Truths, and the Future of America’s Nursing Homes. It has been a #1 Amazon new release in:

• Nursing Home Care

• Medicare/Medicaid

• Geriatrics

• Gerontology

Two weeks ago, the book was awarded a silver medal in the 2026 Living Now Book Awards.

Without a lot of love, guidance, and a few lucky bounces, my timeline is very different. Now…let’s take a look at your nursing timeline over the next 20—or 40 years

Right now, you’re in a profession that most people don’t understand. Recent actions around student loan caps and the designation of professional and non-professional is proof enough

I’ve written about this, and educated critics about the academic requirements for nurses and the increasing demand for nursing educators.

Some get it. Others don’t.

Bureaucracies obstruct the ability to take care of people.

• Between the nurse and the physician

• Between the nurse and the patient

• Between the nurse educator and the student

Centers of excellence are frictionless, and are defined by their lack of these obstructions. This is not easily achieved.

Across the interdisciplinary spectrum of healthcare, there’s a constant attempt to equate Nursing with all other disciplines or fields of study.

This is naïve…or misguided.

While all disciplines are essential, Nursing is the Center of the Healthcare Universe.

Worldwide, we’re about six million nurses short of our patient care needs.

And that’s after considering all the tech advancements and forecasting what AI will bring to enhancing speed and accuracy.

So…what an incredible point in history you are deepening your commitment to caring for people, yes?

I think so. I thank you. And I congratulate you on this commitment.

I’ve worked hard to not numb you with stats and slides, but I’ll share this as validation on your continuing academic commitment to your chosen profession.

For the past 24 consecutive years, Gallup has ranked Nursing as the #1 most trusted profession.

What does this mean? When you come to work every day, people are highly likely to put their faith in what you are doing…and saying.

Quick—give me a lineup card of professions where this is true today…5,4,3,2,1.

Let me personalize this. Seven months ago, I was in a near-fatal accident.

I was faced with two choices—watch my wife and life partner harmed, if she survived, or save her and take whatever hit came with it.

Within a split second, Patrice was safe and I found myself past the bottom of a steep 75’ driveway, landing into the road.

My head was missing pieces.

My ulna was sawed in half.

My elbow was completely dislocated.

My lung was punctured.

My triceps was somewhere in West Virginia, rolling up near my shoulder.

And four of my ribs were fractured.

Over parts of the next three days:

My elbow was reconstructed by a brilliant surgeon, and my triceps was reattached.

Eight screws and a titanium plate brought my ulna from two pieces, back to one.

And except for a ten-minute conversation with an emergency room physician on the first day, my care was managed and delivered exclusively by nurses.

Six different nurse practitioners:

Took the asphalt out of my head.

Sutured an area on my shoulder that looked like I’d been attacked by vultures.

Splinted my dislocated and disfigured arm.

Assessed me for nerve damage and oversaw numerous scans and x-rays.

Played “one-to-one defense” after exiting surgery.

Visited Patrice and I every shift with updates and next steps.

And they gave us the choice to go home when bad weather and incomplete staffing was forecasted.

I will tell you, now seven months later, that our trust in these people—these scientists, with big hearts and skilled hands—could not possibly have been higher.

I’ve written about this experience, on social media and my website, and am most grateful that I’m getting to share today with you.

Wrapping up, I’ll leave you with a few final thoughts about your future timelines…

• You will have unimaginable experiences

• You will experience incredible joy and heartbreak

• You will find out you’re strong enough to endure almost anything—as long as you resist the temptation of “going it alone.” It will always be ok to ask for help

• You will change people’s lives

• You can build a life where your skills are always in demand, and your knowledge and abilities will always be respected

To the ABSN students, welcome…it will go by quickly.

To the BSN students, best of luck on the road ahead. You are in great hands.

To the DNP candidates, thank you for everything you’ve done to get here, and enjoy this next chapter in your journey.

And one day—to all of you—share your stories!

Thank you very much.