Pinning ceremony, now that you're an RN, was it worth it?

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm wondering how you experienced nurses feel about your pinning ceremony now that you are out in the working world.

I'm a single mother. Money is tight. Our class wants in the neighborhood of 250.00 for each of us to participate in the pinning ceremony. I believe that does NOT pay for the pin itself. So...if I don't do this, what will it mean in the long run? Will I regret it? Or will I be glad I saved my money?

Now, I'm not very religious, but I have to say that the one thing that really stands out to me from nursing school, ceremony-wise, was an event that happened before we started our very first clinicals sophomore year. Our families were invited to the school chapel (it was a Catholic university) and we had a "blessing of the hands" ceremony. The priest and our instructors spoke about how special nursing was and how we were going to touch so many lives in our careers. They wanted to bless our hands before we literally touched our first patients, kind of like saying that we were doing God's work. I swear, no matter what religion we were, all of us were very very touched during this ceremony and there were many tears.

That made me tear up too! Not sure if my school does this (or if it's even common) but if they do I will be very glad.

Specializes in NICU.
That made me tear up too! Not sure if my school does this (or if it's even common) but if they do I will be very glad.

It only seems to be common with schools and hospitals that are religious in nature. However, I'm sure if you went to your church you'd be able to have your hands blessed, just need to ask! :)

Mine was 8 dollars a ticket for your guests. We had it in the theater on campus with refreshments afterwords, which is why we had to charge. We also had 65 students being pinned. They did have to limit tickets to 5 per student but the program was excellent and something I will remember the rest of my life.

My suggerstion to you is as a group go to your advisor or dean and find out why it is costing so much and if it can be trimmed down or added to the fees throughout the program in the future. Seems a bit steep especially when you also have to fork out money to attend the graduation usually the next week.

Specializes in cardiac.

Hate to be a sour puss here, but, I would ask for a detailed description of what the $250.00 actually covers. Seems to me that $250.00 is a lot of money just for a pin, unless it's made of real gold, not gold plated. Could it be that the $250.00 covers other expenses as well, such as cap, uniform, diploma, etc? Maybe if it's broken down for you, you could make a better decison on wether it's worth it to you. We were given pins and the cost was around $20.00. We had to purchase our own graduation uniform. All white, either pants or a dress that was approved by the board. Also, our tuition covered our diploma and cap. We were forced to pay for pictures wether we wanted them or not. The minimal fee for that was around $25.00. Also, I forgot, there were invitations, and flowers that were included in our tuition costs. Plus, a small luncheon for us seniors around the last week of school.

Specializes in LDRP.

Ours was in a nice local performance hall, with a caterer afterwards. We raised the money for it through several, several fundraisers throughout the year. All each individual had to pay was for the cost of their pin.

yes, it was worth it. it was nice that it was separate from the rest of the college's graduation, it was just for us.

Specializes in LDRP.

ps-we did have to buy the fancy white outfit to wear to pinning,but it was 30 bucks.

Specializes in Telemetry & Obs.

I was sick the day of pinning, but I took some Phenergan and went anyway. I'm sooooo glad I did.

Our pins, lamps, roses, etc were donated by local hospitals. As a matter of fact, I now work at the hospital that donated our pins (I seem to remember they were about $70 each). The rest of the ceremony and reception afterwards was paid by fundraisers held throughout the year.

I didn't go to the "graduation" ceremony because it was for ALL the programs. The pinning ceremony was just us nursing graduates :)

Specializes in LTC,Home health, Med/Surg.

wow that sounds insane to me. ours was 100% FREE. the ceremony was beautiful and very sentimental. we each were able to say a special thanks to whomever we wanted (SO, spouse,kids etc.) not a dry eye there. i was the president so i gav a speech as well. just beautiful. i must say though, i haven't worn my pin once. i've seen nurses were them, but for some reason i just don't. anyway, i have a family and didn't work while in school so i would certainly pass on the a ceremony to the tune of 200+ dollars.

Specializes in L&D, PACU.

Thank you everyone!!!

Its kind of fun to read everyones' experiences. I'm not big on ceremonies, and I'm not very sentimental. I AM cheap.:)

Specializes in Rural Health.

My out of pocket cost for pinning is around $100, that includes my white scrubs, pin, cap and pictures. Graduation is a seperate deal - we pay $35 for that regardless if we attend or not. It can get more expensive if we get more pictures, new shoes, etc.....

Pinning is going to be held in the gym with all the cost of refreshments and what not paid by our fundraisers throughout the last 2 years. We are also selling posinettas this year at $10 each, that everyone can take home afterwards for gifts or whatnot - so that will add to the decor of the evening. Other decorations are either being donated for the night or we are buying with our funds.

We also have a lunch the day before pinning, which we will more than likely end up paying for ourselves, that will be around $10 per person.

It's expensive for us as well - but to me - I've worked my stinking butt off for the last 2 years and I want this more than anything. Plus, it's going to just make me cry/smile to have my son pin me after everything he's been through with me in NS.

Specializes in Med-Surg, Trauma, Ortho, Neuro, Cardiac.

We raised money all year for our pinning. I can't remember how much it was, but I wouldn't have missed it even for that price, because it's what I'd been working towards for a long time.

Specializes in OB.

I really enjoyed my pinning ceremony. We did fundraising all year for it and we didn't have to pay any out of pocket for it. We could wear anything that we wanted to. Didnt' have to wear the white scrubs. And my four year old daughter and husband pinned me. It was great. I woudn't have missed it for anything.

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