The following information and policies are applicable to Practical Nursing Certificate students (in addition to all general policies applicable to all GCC nursing students).

The origins of the above nursing pin are unknown, however it is probable that the distinctive caps and pins were adopted by early nurses to confirm that they had been trained. The use of pins was not without controversy because during the 19th century, nurses were rebuked for wearing any ornamentation on their uniforms. It has been suggested by E. Krohn-Hermann, nurse historian that the precedent began when Queen Victoria presented a brooch to Florence Nightingale in 1855. As nurse training schools developed in the late 1800’s, administrators began to award graduates an official pin to distinguish their graduates from others. The earliest known United States school of nursing pin which was presented to graduates from the Bellevue Hospital Training School in New York, was said to “preserve the identity and uphold the standing of the school … and to be a mark of character as well as achievement” (Bellevue, 1923, n.p.).

The practical nursing certificate pin was designed in 1992. In order to maintain a connection with the original pin, the blue enameled Florence Nightingale lamp set on a book remains in the center. The book symbolizes knowledge while the lamp has come to represent the light that Miss Nightingale brought to the profession of nursing. On the edge of our pin are the words: “The right to think, the will to learn” which are adapted from Greenfield Community College’s legacy school seal. These words are surrounded by laurel leaves, also symbolizing learning and knowledge, and reflecting the college’s commitment to our principles of education.