Does anyone else here have to dress up like Nurse Rachett for graduation?

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Help!

I'm working my butt off and doing great in my class; and we'll be done in June. :D

Graduation will mean the world to me, but we have to wear those awful white dresses with the silly paper nurse caps for graduation!! Throw in those white hose and ugly white shoes and I'm tempted to skip the ceremony.

They keep saying "it's tradition"... well, so is sexism and underpayment. The males only have to wear white pants & shirts.

Am I off base here? What does your school require for graduation attire??

all that stuff you'd probably never wear again (unless it's Halloween)....

people who aren't bothered by by the ugly getup ......

Perhaps the problem I have with your post is the delivery. "Ugly get ups" and "halloween" hardly pay tribute the countless nurses before us.

Tradition is important to a lot of people, in fact-I have seen little to no change in the graduation attire for highschool or college. They still wear the time-honored caps and gowns.

I am all for progression but there is much to be said for tradition and honor, and blatanly disrespecting it with the word UGLY is rude.

Gee, why all the fuss about white; white dress, white scrubs etc. I love white, I wear white pants, white skirts, and white blouses. Why exactly is white "ugly"? I think the major reason people don't like white is because majority of Americans are overweight or obese and they don't feel comfortable wearing white. So, maybe it is not because of the white...

Specializes in ER, PCU, ICU.

I didn't go to my pinning because we were forced to wear what the instructors chose and were also mandated to carry fake flashlight candles as we did something of a "bridal" march (think step, pause, step, pause) from the back of the auditorium to the stage. I was being pinned as a nurse, not marrying a career.

I was one of 9 guys in my class, 4 of us didn't go along with 3 of the ladies. Ten percent of our class didn't go because we didn't like how the event was prescribed to us. I DON'T miss going for a minute.

School staff mandated our attire and how the evening unfolded. When I and others suggested that the ceremony was a celebration of our accomplishment, not the staff's, and should be able to plan our own event, I was shut down by the school's director with "we've always done it this way."

While I commend the school for it's very high pass rate, which they use to justify a LOT of their actions, their militaristic approach was a little irritating at times. I played the game when I had to and stepped away when I didn't.

You do what you think is right.

Specializes in Case mgmt., rehab, (CRRN), LTC & psych.

Here's a thought: You don't have to attend graduation!

I did not attend my graduation ceremony, and I have no regrets!

Specializes in Geriatrics, pediatrics.

YES, I think several of the previous posters have a point.

Referring to the dress and cap as ugly could be insulting to some... I apologize. 4_6_5.gif

I think it's nice to see things from all sides, and I'm beginning to feel better about the whole thing. I see that it is possible to embrace the whites and the cap as honorable; and yet I still believe we should also focus on promoting the profession of nursing as distinguished and of utmost importance to the future of society.

Also, what if nursing had always been a predominantly MALE profession?

I think that if it was, it would have been more highly promoted as being a distinguished profession, and better paid.

Nursing school has been alot like boot camp!

It's all consuming.

You're told when to eat, how to dress, what to think.

I just found out I'm at the top of my class, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is that when it's all said and done, that I become the best nurse that I can be (no matter what).

Thanks for your input! 4_6_7.gif

YES, I think several of the previous posters have a point.

Referring to the dress and cap as ugly could be insulting to some... I apologize. 4_6_5.gif

I think it's nice to see things from all sides, and I'm beginning to feel better about the whole thing. I see that it is possible to embrace the whites and the cap as honorable; and yet I still believe we should also focus on promoting the profession of nursing as distinguished and of utmost importance to the future of society.

Also, what if nursing had always been a predominantly MALE profession?

I think that if it was, it would have been more highly promoted as being a distinguished profession, and better paid.

Nursing school has been alot like boot camp!

It's all consuming.

You're told when to eat, how to dress, what to think.

I just found out I'm at the top of my class, but it doesn't really matter. What matters is that when it's all said and done, that I become the best nurse that I can be (no matter what).

Thanks for your input! 4_6_7.gif

A little off-topic, but is this thing that has started appearing at the bottom of your posts, with the "smileys," some kind of advertising or something? Because that isn't allowed here -- please check the TOS for the site. Thanks! :)

TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH MY CLASSMATES FELT THE SAME WAY THE THE DRESSES WERE UGLY AND THAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO LOOK OLD. BUT ITS AN HONOR TO HAVE THAT LOOK AND WE ALL LOOKED GREAT WITH OUR WHITE DRESSES AND TIGHTS AND YES WE ALL WORE THE TRADITIONAL NURSING SHOES AND HATS. I WOULD NOT CHANGE IT FOR THE WORLD. SERIOUSLY THINK ABOUT IT CAUSE WHEN YOU WAS GROWING THAT SAME OUTFIT WAS WHAT CAUGHT YOUR EYE AS A NURSE :nurse::nurse:

We had the option of white dress, pantsuit uniform or white scrubs. As long as it was white they didn't care. Have you asked about having this option?

Specializes in Family Nurse Practitioner.
I think the major reason people don't like white is because majority of Americans are overweight or obese and they don't feel comfortable wearing white. So, maybe it is not because of the white...

You have got to be kidding me.

Specializes in ORTHOPAEDICS-CERTIFIED SINCE 89.

I graduated in 1974. From the state University. Liberated as it was. Do your thing. We even had a streaker run through med-surg class.

Come graduation it was a black robe, apricot stole, square mortarboard and white shoes (summer graduation). I guess in winter it was black shoes.

That's it. I have no official pictures of my class...34 years later I can't even remember names much less faces. I had a cap, it got misplaced when Daddy died and they hurried up and cleaned my house for the wake. I'd say grin and bear it. In 34 years it will make a nice moment in time in your memory.

Specializes in everything BUT O.R.!!!!.

Yes, my adult education school in Los Angeles had that mandate when I graduated many years ago. I was, in fact, very very proud to wear that white dress uniform, shoes and my nursing school cap! It was one of the proudest days of my life. My parents attended and were ecstatic! In fact, my dad, being a pastor said the closing prayer and it was all so beautiful. Be happy, wear what you must and above all else, BE PROUD of this day and look to the future. :yeah:

Specializes in med/surg/tele/neuro/rehab/corrections.

I wore a white dress and nurses cap for my graduation and was proud to do it. I wish I could wear it everyday ;)

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