Pinning Ceremonies are held near the end of the nursing student’s academic journey in their program. It is a time for the students, family, friends, faculty, and educational partners, to come together in celebration of achievement. Pinning Ceremonies are held separately from graduation, and before the student sits for their licensure exam.

Around 1860, Florence Nightingale was awarded the Royal Red Cross of St. George in recognition for her service during the Crimean War. After establishing her own nursing training program, Florence presented a medal of excellence to her own student in homage to the award she received. Over time, hospitals began awarding pins to recognize their students’ completion of academic requirements with a specially designed pin to represent the institution.Today, colleges and universities in the United States and England continue to hold pinning ceremonies to recognize the graduate’s achievement and transition into the nursing profession. The pin also signifies membership into a society of nurses; an estimated 29 million nurses worldwide and nearly 4 million in the US

Nursing Pinning Ceremony 2026 Information

NTC Nursing invites you to attend the 2026 Nursing Pinning Ceremony. This year’s ceremony will be held Thursday, May 7th at 3 pm in the Bemidiji State Gymnasium.

The theme for 2026 is THE POWER OF NURSES. This theme emphasizes Resilience in healthcare delivery, Leadership in patient advocacy, and Compassion in clinical practice.

Event Live Stream

Replay of the live event from May 7th is available on Northwest Technical College’s Vimeo