Forty-three female students were capped and three male students were pinned during the ceremony held at Connect Christian Church. COURTESY OF MELANIE GASS

May 26. The Associate Degree Nursing (ADN) program at Cabarrus College of Health Sciences held its capping and pinning ceremony for spring 2016 graduates on May 9.

Historically, the presentation of a white cap to a novice nurse signified the completion of classroom theory and the beginning of hospital training. With an increasing number of men entering the nursing profession, the use of the nurse’s cap and traditional white dress has been replaced by nursing scrubs. The presentation of the white nurse’s cap or the placement of the pin on the lapel of a male nursing graduate serves as a symbolic welcome into professional nursing practice.