Vocational Nurse Pinning & Graduation Ceremony

On August 31, 2012- History was made here at The College of Health Care Professions, as we had our first Vocational Nurse Pinning / Graduation Ceremony!

We have 6 graduates who have worked hard throughout this past year to rise up to where they are at today- closer to becoming a Licensed Vocational Nurse! This will be one of the greatest accomplishments in their life and will change their life forever. After graduating on August 31, 2012, they will then be eligible to take their national licensure test- the NCLEX-PN examination.

Below are some of the events which took place at a Nursing Pinning Ceremony and why we still do it to this day. Every school has a specially designed pin and we here at CHCP are no exception. We have a very special pin designed for our school and are proud to have our first graduating class receive it during their pinning ceremony. We want to thank our CEO- Jon D. Emerald, Principal- Jim Cummins, Northwest President- Annette Ollsen and all the faculty and staff of the Houston Northwest Campus for their support in helping this graduating class get through one of hardest years of their life. We wish this class all the best of luck in their future endeavors! May you be successful in whatever you put your hand to do.

-Tina M. Miekowski MSN RN, LVN Program Director

Signifigance of Nursing Pinning and Candlelight Ceremony

Nursing Pinning Ceremony

The pinning ceremony is one of the most enduring and special parts of graduation ceremonies for nursing students. Nursing schools typically have their own unique pins which usually have some version of an old oil lamp, symbolizing excellence in, and dedication to, nursing worldwide. Nursing graduates will often dedicate their pin to someone who has had a special influence on their decision to enter nursing or otherwise served as a mentor.

Lighting of The Nightingale Lamp

The nursing graduates honor the dedication of Nurse Nightingale and symbolically plan to carry the ideals for which she stood in the Candle lighting portion of the pinning ceremony. The tradition of Candle lighting and Pledge recognizes her ideals.

Retrieved from eHow.com

"This lamp... was a symbol of all Florence Nightingale stood for, comfort and kindness and gentleness and courage, and an unswerving devotion to duty. Perhaps deep down, she knew even then that the light from it would go on shining far into the future..."
--From "A Lamp for Elizabeth" by Kathleen O'Farrell
Nightingaleslamp.com

Florence Nightingale Pledge

Often regarded as the founder of modern nursing, Florence Nightingale was an English nurse who served wounded soldiers during the Crimean War. Appalled by the conditions and treatment of sick and wounded patients, she began a crusade for more hygienic, humane nursing practices. She established the first secular nursing school in 1860 in London. Later nursing educators wrote a version of the Hippocratic Oath, modified for nurses, and named if after Nightingale. For decades, a recitation of the “Nightingale Pledge” was a required aspect of nurse graduation ceremony traditions.

The Nightingale Pledge

I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.

Retrieved from NursingWorld.org