ceremonies, often considering them out of date and unnecessary. Other nursing schools retain ceremonies that are entirely planned and funded by the students. Ceremony A pinning ceremony is a public event involving the family and friends of nurses being recognized. The nurses often dedicate their pins to a person who has made a significant impact on their lives. At the ceremony itself, a faculty member from the nursing school typically hands a pin to each designated significant person, who in turn places it on the nursing student who selected them. Sometimes the faculty member themselves places the pin on the nursing student. During the pinning itself, another faculty member will often read a dedication that the student has written about the person pinning them. Pinning ceremonies also generally feature an address from a nursing faculty member and a candle-lighting or lamp-lighting ceremony, which commemorates Nightingale's nighttime aid to wounded soldiers by candlelight. The candle-lighting or lamp-lighting ceremony is often accompanied by the reciting of the Nightingale Pledge, the International Council of Nurses Pledge, or a pledge specific to an individual nursing school. Symbolism A pinning ceremony is a symbolic welcoming of newly graduated or soon-to-be graduated nurses into the nursing profession. It sometimes recognizes the completion of educational requirements that enable nurses to take their state licensing examinations. The ceremony is not a graduation, as it does not signify the completion of all criteria necessary to earn a nursing degree. At some nursing schools, the pinning ceremony is held a few weeks before commencement. According to Linda Ketchum, a pinning ceremony is "recognition from the nursing faculty and acknowledgment on the part of the student, that in the students' hearts, they are ready for the role of a nurse." Lenora Bodway called pinning ceremonies symbolic of "initiation into the brotherhood and sisterhood of nurses" and remarked that they are "often more personally meaningful than the graduation ceremony". Historically, a nursing pin symbolizes an educated nurse who is prepared to serve society as a healthcare professional. Typically, each nursing school designs and awards its own unique pin. For example, Bellevue Hospital's 1880 pin design includes a crane that represents vigilance, a blue band symbolizing constancy, and a red band symbolizing mercy and alleviation of suffering. See also Capping ceremony References External link Graduation Nursing education