Arms of the School of Nursing of the University of Ottawa
Arms of the School of Nursing of the University of Ottawa
Blazon
Azure semé of spur rowels of six points Or, an antique lamp Argent enflamed Gules;
* The painting provided by the College of Arms shows the lamp enflamed proper rather than Gules;
* The painting provided by the College of Arms shows the lamp enflamed proper rather than Gules;
Symbolism
The lamp has been a widely recognized symbol of the nursing profession since the famous nursing service of Florence Nightingale during the Crimean War in the 1850s. The spur rowels are taken from the arms of Eugène de Mazenod, the French bishop who founded the Oblates of Mary Immaculate, the religious order that established the University of Ottawa and its school of nursing.
Crest
Blazon
A pelican in her piety proper collared per pale Azure and Or all between two spur rowels of six points Azure;
Symbolism
The image of a pelican feeding its own blood to its young is a symbol of self-sacrifice, representing the compassion nurses show to others. The pelican with its collar in the school’s colours echoes the similarly adorned pelican that appears in the crest of the university’s Faculty of Medicine. The spur rowels repeat the symbolism of the Arms.
Motto
Blazon
ALIIS SUBVENTUROS DOCEMUS;
Symbolism
This Latin phrase means “We teach people who in turn will help others.”
