Mind Boggling - Not going to graduation?

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Can someone please help me to understand why a nursing student would not want to attend his/her pinning ceremony. :uhoh3:

I just don't understand. My friend and I are about to complete our nursing program in about 6 weeks. She keeps telling me that she may not attend our pinning. I did not jump down her throat or anything I was just curious as to why she felt this way. Apparently she has not gotten along with one of the instructors and does not want to go. But why would she let an instructor cause her from not going ? She has been through so much to get to this point now. She failed the first semester in nursing school and had to wait a year to get back in... after all that she still doesn't want to attend. She knows how beautiful they are, her mom is a nurse and she's been to her moms. IDK apparently some people aren't exicited about pinnings anymore.

Me, I'm totally different. Every time the thought of me walking across that stage to get pinned gets me teary eyed. I've dreamed of the day of my pinning for so long now and I can't wait to experience the day. I can't wait to wear my all white with my cap and site my natingale pledge. :nurse: (sigh)

For those of you that did not or will not attend your pinning ceremony, I just have one question: Why ?

Thanks in advance for clearing this up for me.

Specializes in ED/TELE.

I graduated with a BS in an another field 12 years ago, and I was pinned yesterday and will be graduating with my ADN tomorrow. I don't remember much about my BS graduation, but I don't think I will ever forget my pinning ceremony. All of my heart and soul has gone into the last 15 months, and I can't say that about my first go round in college. Only my immediate family attended, and they loved every minute of it - even my small children. And even though I already have a BS, and an associates degree may seem like a step backwards, it's really important to me that I walk for graduation tomorrow to support my friends and classmates who've accompanied me on this adventure.

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Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.
Can someone please help me to understand why a nursing student would not want to attend his/her pinning ceremony. :uhoh3:
I didn't attend my graduation from the LVN program in 2005 because I didn't really want to attend. I didn't attend my graduation from the RN program a few months ago because it was cancelled abruptly due to a snow storm. I never truly wanted to attend the RN graduation ceremony either, but my parents came to town specifically to see it, so I reluctantly agreed to attend for their benefit. I guess the snow storm happened for a reason. After all, the Man above knew that I really didn't want to be at my RN graduation ceremony.

Here's the deal for me. Graduation ceremonies, in my opinion, are only for the benefit of the people viewing them, such as our families, friends, and other audience members. There's absolutely no benefit for me to stand around and be pinned by instructors whom I despise. In addition, I'm frankly tired of seeing my classmates' faces after having been in school with the same people for so long. I absolutely do not regret skipping out on my graduation festivities.

I didn't want to attend my junior high and high school graduation ceremonies many years ago either, but I had no choice but to go, because I was living under my parents' roof at the time and I was not allowed to make decisions that differed from their wishes.

In a nutshell, the pin is a piece of metal to me. People ascribe higher meaning to inanimate objects such as the pin, but I don't. Some people view their time in nursing school with memories and strong emotions, but I viewed it as a time of learning, job training, and another irreplaceable chapter in my life. For me, there was no need to ice the cake with a graduation ceremony or a pin.

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.

My school held separate graduation and award ceremonies. It said on the invitation that family members of students who were receiving awards were welcome to attend. Well, how were we to know if we were receiving awards or not? I didn't feel comfortable emailing the head of the program to ask, "Hey, am I receiving an award? Should I bring my family?"

I didn't attend the awards ceremony because of scheduling issues. Ends up that I did get a nice award and it would have been nice if my family could have been there. But nobody from the school officially communicated this to me. I found out from classmates who were there.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Only reason I am going is for my family. If it were up to me I would not attend. I HATE receiving recognition for something that I have done. I dont care, I know that I accomplished what I just did and that is enough for me. When I got my Eagle scout I didnt have a ceremony and was the first one in our troop of over 40 years to not have one.

As an added bonus since i graduate in December, NO CAP AND GOWN!

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.
I HATE receiving recognition for something that I have done. I dont care, I know that I accomplished what I just did and that is enough for me. When I got my Eagle scout I didnt have a ceremony and was the first one in our troop of over 40 years to not have one.

No recognition=no job.

I hate that the world works this way, but the fact is that unacknowledged achievements, even if they're appreciated between you and G-d, won't help you advance your career.

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I almost did not want to go to my high school graduation because I wanted to get the heck out of high school. I had no close friends in HS and I could have cared less for the teachers. In the end I went through with it. It was really hot, and I had my picture taken that was about it. I don't know about pinning and graduation. If pinning consists of lighting candles and is too emotionally charged, that makes me a bit uncomfortable. Yeah, I am glad to be a nurse, but this borders on ridiculous. Putting a pin on me won't make me a nurse. Working as one will. I am not sure what I'll do, but it doesn't matter now. I just need to get through school.

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.
No recognition=no job.

I hate that the world works this way, but the fact is that unacknowledged achievements, even if they're appreciated between you and G-d, won't help you advance your career.

I hate that the world thinks your horn needs to be tooted everytime you do something good/accomplish something. What is so wrong with flying under the radar? What I do at work is my job and I do a damn good job at it. Do I want praise for doing what is expected and going above a lot of the time, no. Will I listen to it to make others happy, sure but I really dont care.

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Specializes in Pediatric Pulmonology and Allergy.
I hate that the world thinks your horn needs to be tooted everytime you do something good/accomplish something. What is so wrong with flying under the radar? What I do at work is my job and I do a damn good job at it. Do I want praise for doing what is expected and going above a lot of the time, no. Will I listen to it to make others happy, sure but I really dont care.
How did you get your job? By handing in a blank resume?
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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

In my ADN class we had 100% participation in our pinning. I would have had to have been totally incapacitated to miss that after all the hard work.

Only about a third of us did the cap and gown ceremony, as people were satisfied with the pinning. To me graduation means a cap and gown and that was important to me.

When I got my BSN, I skipped the ceremonies which were in another town as I did online courses. I had just divorced my ex and I didn't feel like going out of town and attending graduation by myself. No regrets.

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Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.
I hate that the world thinks your horn needs to be tooted everytime you do something good/accomplish something. What is so wrong with flying under the radar? What I do at work is my job and I do a damn good job at it. Do I want praise for doing what is expected and going above a lot of the time, no. Will I listen to it to make others happy, sure but I really dont care.

I understand what you're saying. You're who you are and shouldn't have to defend that.

I don't think my horn needs to be tooted everytime I do something good/accomplish something. I get a lot of satisfaction at the end of the day when I work my butt off and make a difference. That's really all I need. (I've read boomers like me are like this and the younger generations need more feedback).

Still, I have to admit it feels good to get a complement or an award, or make the dean's list or graduate summa cum laude. I'm always generous with praising others and thankful for their hard work. It lifts their spiritis, even if they want to fly under the radar.

And you can bet my resume states I've gotten two Nurse Excellence Awards and Nurse of the Year at this facility over 18 years. I did attend those three ceremonies.

In the end the drive to work hard and succeed is something that comes from within me, rather than from external rewards and I'd do it anyway without the recognition, which trust me doesn't come all that often.

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Specializes in Telemetry, Case Management.

Back in the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, we had a capping ceremony - I didn't attend because I wasn't sure if I was getting funding to continue going to school, this was about halfway through. I did sit home and cry because I wanted to go, but thought it would be so painful to go and then not be able to finish school. In the end, I did FINALLY get funding in time to finish with my class.

I walked at graduation. They just handed us our pins, still in the plastic manufacturer's case, after we got our diplomas. No pinning ceremony, I didn't know schools had pinning ceremonies til I got on allnurses!!

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Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

In the end the drive to work hard and succeed is something that comes from within me, rather than from external rewards and I'd do it anyway without the recognition, which trust me doesn't come all that often.

^^^^ THIS!!!! This right here is exactly what I was trying to say.

And no I didnt hand in a blank resume, I know that I have to play the game of look at what I have done.

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