Hello everyone! I just got my acceptance letter for the Middle Georgia State College Spring '15 BSN program a few days ago. I have a mandatory orientation the third week of December and I'm pretty nervous. I was hoping that someone out there could advise me on what to expect and definitely WHAT TO WEAR. I want to be sure that I am fully prepared and appropriately dressed for this. This is the first topic I've posted, so I hope to get a response!
I must say that honestly, it doesn't matter what you wear to orientation. With that said, you will communicate a significant amount with whatever you decide to wear. Personally, I would not go out and but slacks if you do not have a nice pair (make sure that if you wear slacks, these are pressed, clean, not piling or faded). I would wear nice dark jeans (no holes or fading) with a button up, a blazer or cardigan, and a nice subtle necklace to dress it up. This is orientation, you already got the job... but, you definitely want to impress. I do agree that if you think it is cute or something you would wear to go out on girls night, you might want to re-think it. Some didactic instructors are also clinical instructors, and they will remember you if you stand out from the crowd in a positive way.
Side note: I used to work in an office, so I only had business casual for lectures. Most of the other students wear the standard college gear (sweats and sandals), this did not make them get higher or lower test scores. The one thing I know is that instructors remember the students who get the high scores and the students are are always professionally presented. All my instructors remembered my name and commented on the nice dress/outfit I was wearing that day. Although I didn't have the highest scores, I was confident and that confidence helped me land in the above average category in tests.
I must say that honestly, it doesn't matter what you wear to orientation.
With that said, you will communicate a significant amount with whatever you decide to wear.
This is orientation, you already got the job...
The first quote here is pretty contradictory. If you communicate a significant amount with your outfit, then it really does matter.
Also, we are talking about school orientation, not a job orientation. I one's choice of outfit matter more for school orientation than for work orientation--JMHO.
From my experience, my orientation was very casual. I’d say at least 90% of people were wearing jeans. We have an all day professional event a few days before classes start, and for that I assume it is business attire (and I will be dressing as such). I think your best bet is to speak with someone who is currently in the program to see what they recommend. My nursing advisor and her administrative assistant are always willing to answer questions like these, so if I didn’t have anyone else to ask, I would seek their advice. Overall though, I think this varies from program to program.
I know someone beat me to this, but I think this is a bit of a dangerous attitude. Like it or not, a student is judged from day 1. Nursing instructors/professors know and are sometimes friends with nurse managers. Even if you don't ask a given instructor for a letter of reference, that instructor can have an informal chat with the NM on a unit to which a graduating student applies. You better believe they are going to bring up the student's unprofessional attitude.
Is it "fair" to be judged on what one wears to school orientation? Maybe not, but it happens. Not to mention the fact that the unprofessional-appearing student could be making quite a negative first impression--an impression that could follow that student around during the length of nursing school.
Let me explain something because I don't think people are really getting what I am saying. You won't find anyone more professional than me. I was in retail management for over 10 years, I was an insurance agent, I've worn many hats in my professional lifetime. I am always, always professional on the job and in clinical. I am very fashion conscious. Not set my booty out there fashion conscious, I am more conservative and I dress for my body. I have 2 entire closets in my house full of clothes. People comment on my attire all of the time and usually think I am too dressed up sometimes. I gave a presentation in class and I was far more dressed up than my classmates and everyone commented on it. But I am going to be comfortable if I am sitting there for hours at a time as I am in lecture and I was in orientation. I am in nice jeans and a hoodie pretty much every week. My comments for clinical every single week comment on my professionalism and my treatment of patients. Like I said earlier, you will not find anyone more professional than me. Saying I have a dangerous attitude towards my professionalism in nursing school is way off the mark. Not one person wore business clothes at my orientation. Our instructors talked for maybe 5 minutes. The rest of the time was taken up by the lady who does all of the paperwork for the nursing program and what we had to do now that we were accepted. I just think it's kind of silly. But hey if it makes someone feel better to dress up, more power to them. I was just thinking of comfort.
Honestly I think you should dress simple and comfortable. You don't know how much walking you will do that day. I would dress for the job you are pursuing. Nurses usually wear scrubs to work so I don't see anything wrong with wearing nice jeans (no holes, slits, graffiti, etc) A nice plain top with no distracting words or vulgar language of any such.
Now if you were going for an orientation for MBA school then that would be a different matter and would require dress attire.
You never get another chance for a first impression. You don't know what may happen that day, so dress for success. Business casual can be comfortable. You can always dress down later, but I have images stuck in my head of students in shorts, flip flops, totally non professional attire, that remain my visualization of who they are.
Skip the jeans and Ts, put on a good front and keep it up at least until you give your faculty something else to judge you by, i.e. classroom/clinical behaviors.
Wear business clothing if you want. Most in my orientation wore jeans. It didn't matter. A bigger way to make a great first impression is to have all the required forms completed and documentation! Focus on the forms and then attire.
Better to be over dressed than under dressed!!! Jeans are never appropriate for something like this, I don't care how great they look. And yes, I guarantee that when you get there, there will be people in jeans. And someone there is making a mental note of it. First impressions matter
MarvMIC
23 Posts
I must say that honestly, it doesn't matter what you wear to orientation. With that said, you will communicate a significant amount with whatever you decide to wear. Personally, I would not go out and but slacks if you do not have a nice pair (make sure that if you wear slacks, these are pressed, clean, not piling or faded). I would wear nice dark jeans (no holes or fading) with a button up, a blazer or cardigan, and a nice subtle necklace to dress it up. This is orientation, you already got the job... but, you definitely want to impress. I do agree that if you think it is cute or something you would wear to go out on girls night, you might want to re-think it. Some didactic instructors are also clinical instructors, and they will remember you if you stand out from the crowd in a positive way.
Side note: I used to work in an office, so I only had business casual for lectures. Most of the other students wear the standard college gear (sweats and sandals), this did not make them get higher or lower test scores. The one thing I know is that instructors remember the students who get the high scores and the students are are always professionally presented. All my instructors remembered my name and commented on the nice dress/outfit I was wearing that day. Although I didn't have the highest scores, I was confident and that confidence helped me land in the above average category in tests.