Class Pins. Do You Like Yours?

jingy · Apr 19, 2004

I sympathize with your being unhappy with your class pin. I have a collection of about forty-six pins, which I collected over a lifetime from vintage jewelry dealers, e-bay, and flea markets. These pins vary greatly in the quality of design, but the nicest I think is a very old one from Albany Hospital Training School for Nurses. It was made by Tiffany, and has the lamp of knowledge on a shield which is superimposed on a very naturalistic-looking rose. The name of the school is in gold in an orange enamel circle around the periphery of the pin.

I never got a pin from the BSN program I attended since I was obliged to leave in the third year. I did pass the LPN boards, however, and went on to get a Masters in Library Science.

The journal "RN" once published a calendar with photos of hundreds of pins from all over the country. The most intriguing are those that one can't even tell are nursing school pins. Some are very beautiful - but not all. Pins don't seem to be very important any more, but I think a nurse deserves a beautiful pin to symbolize all the hard work she went through.

Anniekins · Apr 19, 2004

Ours is Gold and Navy Blue, the Kent State Colors. In the middle is the Kent State Emblum, and I honestly don't even know what it is :rolleyes: ....looks very official though :rotfl: Around it it says "Kent State University College of Nursing"

I get mine 2 weeks from Friday at our pinning ceremony. :balloons:

I never thought twice about nursing school pins, but at Clinical last semester, a nurse was wearing one...and I definately noticed it and the school she went to. She is the first and only nurse I have came across wearing one. :)

RNinProgress · Apr 19, 2004

Silly question....what does one do with a class pin after graduation? And, what is the purpose of a pin?

Sorry to ask, I had never heard of such a thing until recently.

Anniekins · Apr 19, 2004

Silly question....what does one do with a class pin after graduation? And, what is the purpose of a pin?
Sorry to ask, I had never heard of such a thing until recently.

Has nothing to do w/ your practice as a registered nurse after graduation. I guess its just a nice sentimental thing to have for some, others could care less.

suzy253, RN · Apr 20, 2004

Our school pin is beautiful and I can't wait to get it. It is a red cross in the center of white then surrounded by a circle of gold that's further surrounded by these decorative arches that are navy/royal blue and white. can't really describe it well enough but it's lovely.

Carolanne · Apr 20, 2004

Today, we saw our pin. I must say, I am disappointed. Our school symbol (some sort of metal structure) is on it & it looks like a member :imbar .
justjenn

:chuckle :chuckle Thanks, Justjenn for the description of your "anatomically correct" school pin, you gave me a much needed laugh!!! Too funny. Anyway, our pin is nice, but the cheapest one is $100, so not THAT nice. Our instructor said we can get pinned with anything we want (within reason, of course). I found a very nice pewter pin for $5.00 on line last night ... more my speed. I'll be darned if I'm shelling out anymore money than I have to ... here comes the NCLEX fee, the RN license fee, the white scrub top we are required to wear to pinning ... it's all getting out of hand. I always thought the school supplied the pin when you were done, guess I was naievely mistaken!

prmenrs, RN · Apr 20, 2004

I'm very sentimental, and I love my pin. It's got kind of curvy shape, name of the school surrounding Our Lady of Lourdes, which is also the name of the school.

You can wear it on your uniform if you want (I guess you won't if you don't like it!). I used to attach it to the name band I had around my stethescope.

hitechlvn · Apr 21, 2004

The origin of the concept of the nursing pin dates back to 1855 when Florence Nightingale was awarded a broach by England's Queen Victoria for her efforts in the Crimean War. The pin was designed by the Queen's husband, Prince Albert, and consisted of a red enamel cross surrounded by an oval and topped by a diamond crown.

BTW the school I graduated from it was their first nursing program and I thought the pin was UGLY hehehe

Hitechlvn

Achoo!, LPN · Sep 24, 2007

We don't have a specific one to our school. We voted and this is what won..

http://www.allheart.com/af801.html

geocachingRN · Feb 13, 2009

The origin of the concept of the nursing pin dates back to 1855 when Florence Nightingale was awarded a broach by England's Queen Victoria for her efforts in the Crimean War. The pin was designed by the Queen's husband, Prince Albert, and consisted of a red enamel cross surrounded by an oval and topped by a diamond crown.
Hitechlvn

I didn't want to pay for a pin that I wouldn't have any use for after I graduated. Turns out the honor society I belonged to gave pins to permanent members. So I applied and was accepted and got a teeny-weeny little pin that was nice, but too small to use. Since I volunteer for the Red Cross, I bought an ARC nurse pin on ebay for $10 and used that. The Red Cross used to have nursing pins, but they don't anymore. The Red Cross pins are perfect, not overdone. Though the above pin sounds really nice.

amers_here · Feb 14, 2009

I haven't actually seen ours, but my instructor mentioned its a lamp, symbolizing Florence Nightingale.