Nursing pin

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.

Baron Vassiliev, a 19th-century Knight Commander of the Knights Hospitaller, bearing a badge with Maltese cross design

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.[1] 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.[2]

  1. ^ Kozier, Barbara; et al. (2004). "Historical and Contemporary Nursing Practice". Fundamentals of Nursing: Concepts, Process, and Practice (7th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall Health. pp. 3–4. ISBN 9780130455291.
  2. ^ Rode, M.W. (1989). "The nursing pin: Symbol of 1,000 years of service". Nursing Forum. 24 (1): 15–7. doi:10.1111/j.1744-6198.1989.tb00813.x. PMID 2694101.