Nursing students mark milestone at Frances Payne Bolton Pinning Ceremony
On May 15, graduating students from Case Western Reserve University’s Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing marked a major milestone during the school’s pinning ceremony, a longstanding nursing tradition that celebrates the transition from student to professional nurse. Surrounded by family, friends, alumni and faculty, students received their nursing pins in recognition of the dedication, resilience and compassion that prepared them for careers in healthcare.
Addressing the graduates during the ceremony, School of Nursing Dean Ronald Hickman, PhD, RN (CWR ’00; NUR ’06, ’13; GRS ’08, nursing), reflected on the significance of the moment and the responsibility that comes with entering the profession.
“The pin you are about to receive is a professional symbol—and I mean that word in its fullest sense,” Hickman said. “It tells anyone you encounter, for the rest of your career, where you studied and what you stand for.”
The pinning ceremony traces its origins to the 1860s and Florence Nightingale. After establishing the first nursing school, Nightingale presented pins to exceptional graduates as a symbol of excellence and service. The tradition later became embedded in nursing education throughout the United States, and by 1916, pinning ceremonies had become a widely celebrated practice nationwide.
Hickman also acknowledged the challenges today’s graduates are preparing to face as they enter an increasingly complex healthcare landscape.
“You have studied hard. You moved through clinical rotations in some of the finest hospitals in the country, wrote papers late into the night, led research, worked long shifts, and some of you even raised families and carried responsibilities far beyond the classroom—and you did it all within the same twenty-four hours the rest of us get,” he said.
The ceremony also recognized the support systems that helped students reach this achievement, including families, friends, alumni and mentors who encouraged them throughout their nursing education. As graduates join the Frances Payne Bolton alumni community, they carry forward a tradition that has shaped generations of nurses and healthcare leaders.
