Smiles, tears, and pride were on the faces of students, instructors, family and friends during Bluegrass Community & Technical College’s (BCTC) Practical Nursing pinning ceremony held November 30. The pinning ceremony not only celebrates the accomplishments of study, practicums, and personal sacrifice, it means leaving school and entering the workforce as a Practical Nurse.
The pinning ceremony is a symbolic welcoming of newly graduated nurses into the nursing profession. During the ceremony, students light individual candles representing one of the most well-known nurses, Florence Nightingale. It symbolizes the “passing of the flame” from Nightingale to each nurse.