On January 27, 2014 the Muhlenberg Job Corps Center held a pinning ceremony as a Right of Passage for students entering into an area of the nursing profession, with Certified Nursing Assistant being the stepping stone to a higher degree of nursing.  The pin is awarded as a symbol of identification that dates back to 1855, when Queen Victoria presented Florence Nightingale with a specially made broach to commend her for her work in the Crimean War. 

A candle was lit as a tribute to Florence Nightingale.  The lit candle symbolizes the nursing rounds that she made at night tending to wounded soldiers, with only the light of her lamp to light her way.  With all of their candles lit, the students recited The Florence Nightingale Pledge:  “I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly, to pass my life in purity and to practice my profession faithfully. I will abstain from whatever is deleterious and mischievous, and will not take or knowingly administer any harmful drug. I will do all in my power to maintain and elevate the standard of my profession, and will hold in confidence all personal matters committed to my keeping and all family affairs coming to my knowledge in the practice of my calling. With loyalty will I endeavor to aid the physician in his work, and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.”

 All thirteen Certified Nursing Assistant students completed their sixteen clinical hours at the Maple Manor Nursing Home, currently operated by Kindred Health Care.