I am in my fourth semester, and the pinning ceremony is in December. The ceremony is traditional in that the female students wear the white cap, we'll light our 'lamps', and we will be 'pinned' by the professors who taught fourth semester. Students are required to wear white, and the school allows a little leeway- white tops/pants paired with white shoes (or white dresses or tops/skirts if the women prefer) are all acceptable for the ceremony.
This fall, however, there has been quite a bit of grumbling among some of the students about having to wear the caps. They feel it is ridiculous to pay the fee (ours is only $20) to purchase a cap they feel they will never wear again. This has caused such an uproar that it was put to a vote. While we are waiting for the final tally, I am disgusted at their attitudes towards wearing the caps. For the record, it isn't about coming up with the money for buying the caps- fund raising and 'loaning' of caps from previous graduates of the program have all been suggested as options for those unable to provide the funds. It is a few students having a fit because they feel they are being forced to come up with even more money to put into a program they've already paid 'too much for' to begin with.
I feel that Nursing isn't just a job, its also a tradition, and the cap is one of the symbols of the profession- a badge of sorts. Generations of nurses before me have all worn the cap, both on the job and at their pinning, and there are thousands of pictures hanging on walls or in photo albums of women who have completed their training. I have worked very hard to finish the program, and I feel that being able to wear the hat (even if only for the two hours at pinning and never again) is an honor. I am part of something that has endured, that is respected, and is more than just a big paycheck.
I would like to find out what others have to say about wearing the caps...what it meant or will mean to them to wear the cap, and how you feel about a school throwing away a vital part of a tradition.
Specializes in Med-Surg, Oncology, telemetry/stepdown.
We just had our first Pinning Planning Meeting with the Faculty today. (Pinning is in May). A fellow classmate and I have been discussing how excited we were to wear a professional nursing dress/skirt of some sort, as well as the cap, which we also see as a tradition we would love to be a part of. We were flat out told by the Dean of Nursing and other instructors at the meeting that we would not be allowed to wear caps of any sort to Pinning. They got all up in arms and almost seemed angry that we had suggested it. They made the cap out to be a negative thing, saying they HAD to wear it, and we would feel differently if we had to wear it as well. While I agree that I would not want to wear a cap every day to work, I felt that wearing one for Pinning would be a special moment in my life...I'm kind of disappointed, but at least we are allowed to wear the dresses we want, provided they come down to our knees. If other graduating students get the chance to wear the cap, I'd say go for it...some people don't have the option.
These threads come up over and over again, and here is a question I would like to stand up and present to the students...
For your graduation to obtain your degree, did you purchase a robe and mortarboard from the bookstore to put your tassel on so you can get up in front of the entire school and move your tassel to the other side????
So...why aren't they complaining about changing the entire graduation ceremony for the whole freaking campus? Upon what occasion would you wear such a contraption again?
If that is the tradition of the college, to me, that should take precedent over ANY student requests.
The College of Charleston in Charleston SC...their ceremony is with the ladies all dressed in white dresses being escorted by the male graduates, and each one of them carry a dozen roses....it's been that way for over a 100 years and it's not going to change anytime soon.
I fail to see how this is a problem...the faculty needs to make it clear: The pinning is not a graduation requirement...either you show up or you don't...but if you don't show up, you don't get a pin...but we'll be more than happy to give you the degree.
I have no idea of why schools can't handle these situations better.
It's always the minority that ruins it for everyone else.
just show up and do whatever is asked of you. no drama!
fyi: we all wore traditional graduation caps and gowns, nothing was nursing related except we were given a pin... but i forgot what it was and lost it already...
We all wore white and our caps (if you wanted....only one girl didn't wear hers and truthfully she looked out of place). We received red roses and our pins...we had the white lanterns and lite them by passing the flame from one to the other as the lights were dimmed. It was BEAUTIFUL!!
I love that my graduation picture LOOKS like a picture of a nurse. I have the picture, my cap, my pin, and my lantern displayed in my office. I also have the group pics of my class in my office as well.
I had announcements made and sent them out with a pic after I passed NCLEX-RN....didn't want to jinx it by sending them out earlier
Edited to add: notice the emoticon...isn't it immediately obvious that she's a NURSE??
Our college of nursing actually just changed its policy to allow all graduating seniors to wear the business professional clothing of their choice. It was actually put to a class vote and 67% of the students chose to break the tradition of wearing all white in the graduation photos.
Personally, I agree with the change as the white represents chastity, virginity, purity, obedience, etc.; all of which nurses no longer stand for. Nurses are no longer just subservient to doctors, but they act as autonomous healthcare professionals and are nurse practitioners, nurse anethetists, and doctor's of nursing practice (DNP).
I'm all for tradition, but not when that tradition stands for antiquated beliefs that do not represent the majority. I feel that we need to shed those antiquated beliefs and the symbolism/traditions behind those beliefs in order for the nursing practice to continue nursing's progressiveness into the future.
I'm sure many disagree, but that's just my two cents. :)
i graduate from an ADN program in december (*fingers crossed*). we have a choice of wearing a cap or not. we all must wear our white uniforms though. the pictures are all mounted behind glass in a huge frame (about 120?? graduates). they are displayed in the halls of the school.
like most things in life, i'm glad there is a choice. i personally probably will not be wearing a cap (i have no nursing history in my family really and i do this as a profession, not tradition- personally). more power to those who wear the cap, or the cap of a family member though.
i am definitely looking forward to the pinning ceremony though (unsure about us having graduation also...)!
I'm just curious... what do the guys do in these ceremonies? Guys can't exactly wear the caps.
At our school, we had a stethoscope ceremony to kick off our studies at the end of orientation. It was awesome, the Dean presented each student with a stethoscope as a symbol of our entry into the nursing school. And there is a pinning when we graduate. But no caps.
If our profession is supposed to be an equal opportunity for both men and women, why do something that is limited to just the females?
I wish my school did the caps at pinning, to be honest. I want one, if just to frame and hang on the wall with my diploma. It's classic nursing; something I immediately think of when I think of nurses. But then, I really like hats in general, so my opinion on this may not be as valid as others.
We had a capping ceremony right before we started med/surg clinical for LPN school. At first I was hesitant to wear the cap to clinicals. We were the last school to wear them. But once I put it on, I was very proud to wear it. After I graduated my Grandmother passed away. She was a RN and we could not find her cap. We used my cap and put on her stripe (which we could find).
live4rachael, Guys did not get caps of course, they got a gold pin to wear..can't remember exactly what it was.
As someone else mentioned, it someone is really opposed to wearing a cap, then skip the ceremony. I don't get being upset on wearing a cap for a short time.
Specializes in Psych, ER, Resp/Med, LTC, Education.
I graduated in 2003 and didn't go to my graduation which was also where the students got pinned. They mailed my diploma in the mail. For a class photo and for the graduation ceromony no one wore caps.....honestly it never even came up. No one wanted to and they didn't ask us to! Thank god! They are so outdated. We wore all white, and all white--white scrubs.
Not all traditions should remain. I graduated in 1972 and was forced to wear a cap. Not just for graduation but to work everyday. Many rules surrounded those caps. Men couldn't wear them so that outcast the men with "who is a nurse"...someone in a cap. And many people wore them who were not nurses, too. They caught on bed rails and slid off slippery hair. Many bobby pins were needed. A real bother for everyday working life.
I was in the group of renegade young nurses who took a stand and got send home for refusing to wear a cap. We worked hard to get away from them. Then around the 1977 people gradually stopped wearing them. You wanting to wear one now is more like dress up in my opinion. You saw them with fascination when you were a child.
But if you really want a photo with one, why not do it. Do it! You'll look back one day and be glad you did. Yes, you have the right to embrace the old tradition. Buy a style you like from Kay's Caps and have a professional photo taken. Why not? You will look beautiful. Now as for pins...that is a tradition should never stop. No reason for it. Nursing pins are beautiful.
flightnurse2b, LPN
1 Article; 1,496 Posts
this is where ours came from: http://www.kayscaps.com/