A nursing pin is a type of badge, usually made of metal such as gold or silver, which is worn by nurses to identify the nursing school from which they graduated. They are traditionally presented to the newly–graduated nurses by the faculty at a pinning ceremony as a symbolic welcome into the profession. Most pins have a symbolic meaning, often representing the history of the nursing program for that school of nursing.
The ancestor of the nursing pin is the Maltese cross. Some significant historical contributors to the foundation of hospital standards involved in using the Maltese cross were the Knights Hospitaller and Order of Saint Lazarus, pioneers of communicable disease care, such as leprosy, syphilis, and other chronic skin diseases during their period, and established one of a few hospitals in the territories of their reign. As the Renaissance period progressed, the use of the symbol has evolved into family coat of arms, then given to those who were providers of exclusive services. Such pins were then awarded to nurses who were needed by society during periods of spread of uncontrolled illnesses during the early period, and to recognize them as nurses who are educated, trained and experienced in the said field.
Read more about Nursing Pin: Nurse's Pins Today, Nursing Symbols
Famous quotes containing the words nursing and/or pin:
“Dearest Lord, may I see you today and every day in the person of your sick, and, whilst nursing them, minister unto you. Though you hide yourself behind the unattractive disguise of the irritable, the exacting, the unreasonable, may I still recognize you, and say: “Jesus, my patient, how sweet it is to serve you.””
—Mother Teresa (b. 1910)
“Who wants to become a writer? And why? Because it’s the answer to everything. To “Why am I here?” To uselessness. It’s the streaming reason for living. To note, to pin down, to build up, to create, to be astonished at nothing, to cherish the oddities, to let nothing go down the drain, to make something, to make a great flower out of life, even if it’s a cactus.”
—Enid Bagnold (1889–1981)