Attention New Grads- Pinning Ceremony Question

[Ready2GradMay09]

I have a question to the May 2009 graduates. I am the president of my nursing class, and we are preparing for our pinning ceremony in 2 weeks. What does your school do special for pinning? Do you light lamps, have a speaker, give awards, sing a song, etc...You get my drift? I am trying to figure out something special and unique to include in our program. Let me know what you guys know or have heard of.

[Music in My Heart]

While it is a profession, there is nothing wrong with a ceremony.

Agreed, nothing wrong with ceremony. It's the nature of said ceremony which becomes a matter of preference.

The other thing that we're doing is having some students put together a group presentation summarizing the journey that we've shared together. Some others are putting together a poster board with pictures. We're following the pinning with a reception since it'll be the last time that we're all together.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

When I graduated from the LPN program, we didn't do candles (fire code), but what we did do was have a pastor from a church most of the students went to come in and do a "Blessing of the Hands" -- one of the student's brother has his own band and he sang "Testify to Love" by Avalon -- we gave gifts to the professors, received our certificates, and we were given flowers. We had a small reception afterwards. It was nice to see all the families sharing their war stories about us being in school....

[PacoUSA, BSN, RN]

Do male nursing graduates get white flowers as well?

[Jolie, BSN]

Do male nursing graduates get white flowers as well?

In our pinning ceremony, the female students received a red long-stemmed rose, and the male students received a boutineer (sp?).

[northern_RN]

Just an idea out there for pinning.

Our nursing instructor instilled in us for the pinning it is her honor to pin us as in she is passing on the profession. She said that as nursing students we were really under her license at clinicals even though we were all LPNs at the time. You should take it as an honor to be pinned by an instructor. I have heard many stories out there of people having their kids, spouse, or parent pin them. That is what my LPN class did and although it makes for cute pictures, think about the meaning behind the pinning and it should be a fellow nurse. Now if your mom or someone that is a nurse is going to do the pinning that makes sense, however if not I would seriously consider having a nurse do it.

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

Just an idea for flowers...we did carnations, but maybe for the more "masculine" idea (we didn't have guys that made it all the way thru, and their uniforms didn't have lapels for the boutineers) -- maybe a mix of traditional healing herbs and flowers? Sage, larkspur, barberry, etc.? As a sort of personal grin, I have a small flower garden in my front yard. All the flowers have (or are alleged to have) healing properties. Foxglove, Lavender, lemon balm, peppermint, etc. I'm going to suggest it if I get that far, and drying the bouquet will make a nice pommander for the closet....

[nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN]

In LPN school we were pinned by out teachers (I was first, and threatened to scream "OW, bloodwings!"). If we get to get pinned by someone else, it would be my aunt, who's a retired nurse. It's like the lamp is lit from another lamp; a nurse is pinned by another nurse.