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 . Have you guys ever seen a "bomb-pop"? It is a sort of ice pop that are Red/White & Blue. It kinda resembles that. Well, this symbol is in the center of the "southern cross" Now, when I think of "southern crosses" I think of WWI & Germany's Red Baron or Bikers. Not something that you would associate with nursing.
I like our pin, but I don't like the shape of it. Here is a link to the UA Delta Omega chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International which has a picture of our pin on it: http://www2.uakron.edu/deltaomega/
Come on guys...the pin is a symbol of all you went through to get where you are! No, it doesn't make you a better or worse practitioner, it doesn't get you more money or a better job. Just like your CLEAN, IRONED uniform or lab coat, CLEAN white shoes in the hospital, neat appearance, and professional manner...it simply says "I am a PROFESSIONAL NURSE and I am PROUD of my education and where I went to college!" Bless them and what they do, but factory workers and trash collectors don't wear such things because they are doing a JOB...Nursing is a PROFESSION...we need to start acting the part again...believe me, there are quite a few research articles being written today about how badly, we as nurses, are portraying ourselves and how the public DOES NOT LIKE IT...appearance to our clients is a very important aspect of the care we give.
There is far too little pride among nurses today...everyone goes for the cheap, grimey looking tennis shoes, scrubs that fit poorly or not at all, long decorated fingernails that harbor bacteria, pierced everythings, etc...
Whatever they look like, our school pins simply add a small touch of tradition and professionalism to our practices, and simply say that we belong to an elite group of health care professionals who are proud of who we are and what we do.
I personally have 4 school pins...one from my ADN, BSN, MSN and anesthesia programs and wear them PROUDLY every day. I hope the new geneartion of nurses wears their pins with the same sense of pride in the coming years.
Man I don't care if my pin has a 7 foot horse on it smoking a cigarette... as long as It says LPN or RN thats all that matters to me ! Its just a pin to me, and I'll still be wearing it very, very proudly !
I never really thought about whether I thought my school pins (diploma program + grad school) were "pretty" -- the important thing (to me) is that I am proud of the schools I attended and my professional education. And, although my specialty is psych and I have spent most of my career working in street clothes, when I am in a situation where I am wearing whites or a lab coat over my clothes, I always wear my pins.
Like conuan61, I consider them part of looking sharp and professional, and am sorry that nursing in general has gotten so casual about our appearance and general presentation. I also consider the pins a little reminder to always conduct myself in a way that reflects well upon my schools when I'm working or interacting with the public as an RN.
The nursing pin: symbol of 1,000 years of service.Rode MW.
University of Evansville, IN.
The nursing pin is a 1,000-year old symbol of service to others. The earliest ancestor of the pin dates back to the Maltese Cross, adopted by crusaders and worn on their habits as a symbol of service to Christianity. Over the centuries, variations of the crusader's symbol were gradually modified and became family coats of arms, often symbolizing service to a ruler. By the Renaissance, guilds had adopted coats of arms symbolizing masterful service to the community. The most recent ancestor of the pin is the hospital badge of 100 years ago. It was given by the hospital school of nursing to the students to identify them as nurses who were educated to serve the health needs of society. This symbol of service involves many professional rights and responsibilities.
PMID: 2694101 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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I'm really sorry you hate your pin. Ours are the school emblem which isn't that bad but we got to pick alot of different things for ours. Like engraved initials and date of pinning, we also got to pick a charm we could have on it and the metal we wanted.
Our school pin is a standard issue, gold (I hate gold), with the schools symbol on it. I don't think it even says RN on it. It costs $47 which I definitely don't have. I'm having them pin me with my phi theta kappa pin.
my pin is horrible. it's bright gold with a big maroon stone in the middle in the shape of the star of life. yes, i'm very proud of it... but it stays in my nursing school memory box with my humongous nursing cap. i also have an honor society pin which is pretty, it's a lavender and white pin, but it's very small and i'm afraid i would lose it in the wash or something so i don't wear that either.
i'm proud enough when i get to say "hi, i'm allison, and i am going to be your nurse today." :)
We can order our pin from the school bookstore and there are plenty to choose from. However, they start at $50 and go up to $400. Can you guess which pins sold out first?
I ordered a pin from allheart instead. (By the way, don't ever order from allheart, I'm in a very slow email argument with them.) Hope I get my pin in time.
From what I'm hearing, our pinning ceremony isn't well organized, and most of our instructors won't even be there. It makes me sad. I'll just be proud to pass the NCLEX, land a job, and get an employee badge that says "RN" in big letters!
I guess some of us "older nurses" (I've been out for 25 years) are just a little more sentimental. We too had to purchase our pins, pay clinical fees, pay for uniforms, and NCLEX exams, but we WANTED to buy that pin and wear it as a symbol of pride...we couldn't wait...of course it doesn't make better nurses or anything of the sort...it is just a little "rite of passage" that identifies you with your school...attractive pin or not, I daily wear my ADN, BSN, MSN, and anesthesia pins on my labcoat...Sad, but I guess it isn't that important to the newer generation any more...
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shrimpchips, LPN
659 Posts
I like our pin, but I don't like the shape of it. Here is a link to the UA Delta Omega chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International which has a picture of our pin on it: http://www2.uakron.edu/deltaomega/