Graduation...Go or No?

[made]

Is going to graduation worth it? Yes I understand it was a struggle getting here, but hear me out. The thing that really bugs me is that graduation is a week before I actually get the results from my CPNRE. If it was a week after the fact, I would be like "heck yeah". Also I work the day of and after graduation, I did book it off but was denied. My husband also works. Another thing, I think the schooling was a joke. I mean, for 2.5 years, I went to school for 2 days a week. Thats it, I don't feel the program prepared us enough. I was expecting school to be 5 days a week, not 2! I just want opinions please, whether or not to attend. Another thing, there will be 11 different courses graduating at the same time with us.?

[AKA_Glamour_Pearl]

I didn't go. I did attend pinning ceremony. I chose not to attend because I already had a Bachelor's degree and it was more of a pain to me since pinning was the day before graduation. I didn't want my family to have to take an additional day off from work to watch me graduate "again". I didn't see how I could afford it anyway, w/o asking my family for assistance. I didn't want them to have to contribute anything else, although they would have. I already had to buy a new uniform and shoes, and pin for the pinning ceremony...all on a student budget. I'm going back for my RN-BSN. Maybe when I graduate from that program, since I'm planning to attend my DREAM school, I'll participate in graduation and skip that pinning, since I've already been pinned. I think it works that way. Good luck!

[linearthinker, DNP, RN]

I went to my Law school graduation, and I will go to my doctoral hooding. I have skipped all the rest. My last name starts with a Z. I'm not sitting there all d@mn day!

[Rob72, ASN, RN]

How to say this tactfully? Hmmm...

Our group was on-line(6 in the group), only 1 of us under 25, all of us owned our own homes, worked "real jobs" before going to nursing, etc..

We really lost a great deal of respect for the program direction, during 2nd and 3rd semesters. We all passed, no "fails", but aside form pinning we didn't feel it appropriate to be "granted admission" into the profession by those representing our school. I won't say that we, "didn't learn anything", but none of us picked up what we felt we really needed (and expected) in the program. 5 of us were already working in direct care, so it was not a school-to-real-world translation issue...

The big thing about graduation is being accepted by the "peerage"; you've met the standards, and are now a full member of the tribe (be it Business, Health Sciences, Science, whatever). It is as close to a coming of age ceremony as we have.

All that to say, if you respect the instructors, you feel that you are proud to be part of that group, I would say go. If your identity is not involved with the school, it probably isn't worth it.