Chief Promotion Speech

Admiral Carmona,
Admiral Moritsugu,
Admiral Wyatt,
Dr Gallin,
Dr Hastings,
Distinguished Guests,
Collegues,
Family and Friends,

Thank you for the honor of your presence today and for celebrating this occasion with me.

I am humbled by the opportunity to serve in this new capacity as a nurse and as an officer.

I acknowledge the legacy of the those who have preceded me in this role. ---Mary Pat Couig, Dr Faye Abdella,

They have provided the leadership that guided nursing through the challenges of the past decades and ushered us into the new millennium.

I am grateful for the standard of excellence that they leave me to uphold.

I want to recognize the leadership of the Clinical Center and NIH. They have allowed me to learn and grow throughout my career and made it possible for me to accept this new role. I am very grateful.

I want to acknowledge my family, my husband and children. They serve as a continued source of support inspiration, love and acceptance. You are my life and I thank you for your sacrifices.

As I reflect on the Office of the Chief Nurse, I recognize that there would be no such office if it were not for the nurses that this position serves.

So today I pay tribute to the nurses and to the important role they play on the frontline of protecting, promoting and advancing the health and safety of our nation.

It is the nurse who protects by responding to threats of illness and disasters.

It is the nurse who reaches out to care and comfort those who are vulnerable and those who are in need.

It is the nurse who promotes health by nurturing the human response to disease and the social reintegration of people’s lives.

And it is the nurse who advances the quality and safety of care through inquiry and the application of science at the bedside.

The PHS march has a phrase “in the silent war against disease no truce is ever seen” — However, in this silent war, it is the nurse who creates the quiet moments of cease fire that bring the gift of caring, the glimmer of hope, and the promise of peace and health.

In the army of the SG, it is the nurse who marches, not in isolation.

But together with our professional colleagues in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, social work, nutrition, engineering, research, health services, epidemiology, and many others too numerous to mention.

Together we work to create the future of human health.

Today, I pledge my commitment to working with all of you to create that future.

Thank you

Carol A. Romano, PhD, RN, FAAN
Assistant Surgeon General
Chief Nurse Officer, US Public Health Service