16 May HU’s First Graduates from the Nursing Program

Ten Huntington University graduating nursing students were honored May 13, 2011, in a traditional pinning ceremony.

The Class of 2011 is the first graduating class from the Department of Nursing. Earlier in the week, the nursing program was awarded full accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.

The history of the nursing pinning ceremony stems from the Crimean War when Florence Nightingale took 38 women to Turkey to nurse sick and wounded British soldiers. Since she cared for many patients by the light of a lamp, Florence Nightingale became known as the “lady with the lamp.” As a tribute to her dedication, the lamp icon became symbolic of nursing. Today, the nursing pin is used to welcome graduates into the nursing profession–the end of formal education and the beginning of practice.

At the ceremony, students received the Huntington University Department of Nursing pin with the department emblem.