How Did The Registered Nurse Symbol, Or Caduceus, Come About?

To those in the nursing field, the registered nurse symbol signifies an accomplishment of finishing nursing school

. It has stood as being a symbolic representation of caring in the nursing, and healthcare field in general, for nearly a century. The registered nurse symbol is ever present in nursing school and inside the profession as a whole. But do you know what the registered nurse symbol truly is and what it stands for?

The registered nurse symbol, originally known as the Caduceus is a staff that was according to legend carried by the roman god messenger Hermes. This staff was topped with a pair of wings and had two winding serpents around it. It was a symbol of fertility, wisdom, and was also a symbol of the sun gods. Carried by Greek heralds and ambassadors, this staff was meant as a symbol of neutrality pertaining to the Romans.

By regulation since 1902 it has been the insignia with the healthcare branch in the U.S. Army. The caduceus is much used like a symbolic representation of commerce, postal service, and ambassadorial positions and since the 16th cent. has largely replaced the one-snake symbolic representation of Asclepius as being a image of medicine.

Even though the registered nurse symbol is thought by some to be a negative mark on the profession, it's still a positive symbol for those of us who work as a registered nurse inside the field. No matter what the registered nurse symbol might seem like to others, to the common public it still remains a image from the nursing and medical fields in general, and consequently stands as a positive symbolic representation for them and a sense of comfort. We nurses don't look at it and think of the negative connotations associated with it from ancient mythology, we regard it as being a image of pride.

Many "medical" organisations use a registered nurse symbol of a short rod entwined by two snakes and topped by a pair of wings, which is actually the caduceus or magic wand of the Greek god Hermes (Roman Mercury), messenger of the gods, inventor of (magical) incantations, conductor of the dead and protector of merchants and thieves. Its meaning is 'heralds staff' from the greek word karykeion. Itself based on the word 'eruko' meaning control or restrain.

It is interesting to see that most of organisations using this registered nurse symbol are generally either commercial or military (or American). New Zealand examples include drug and pharmaceutical companies. A study by Friedlander confirms this impression. The link between the caduceus of Hermes (Mercury) and medicine seems to have arisen by the seventh century A.D., when Hermes had come to be linked with alchemy. Alchemists were referred to as the sons of Hermes, as Hermetists or Hermeticists and as "practitioners of the hermetic arts". There are clear occult associations with the caduceus.

The caduceus, or registered nurse symbol, was the magic staff of Hermes (Mercury), the god of commerce, eloquence, invention, travel and theft, and so was a symbol of heralds and commerce, not medicine. The words caduity & caducous imply temporality, perishableness and senility, while the medical profession espouses renewal, vitality and health.

by: Josephine Eagen

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