Pinning Ceremony - Kids Pinning?

HappyNurse2005, RN · Mar 6, 2005

Well, if we were allowed to, some might. WE have to have one of our instructors do it, and we don't pick which one....just whichever one we go to on stage.

jenrninmi, MSN, RN · Mar 6, 2005

We vote for two instructors to do the pinning and one instuctor to read dedications. It would be kind of neat to have someone in my family to do it, but we're graduating 70 students and that would take forever.

llg, PhD, RN · Mar 6, 2005

I'm not a student, but rather an old nurse who has sat through many ceremonies of various kinds over the years.

I think it depends on the circumstances - such as how large is the class? and ... Is it the school's tradition to have family members and friends do the pinning?

If it is a small class and there is a tradition of having each student choose who does their pinning, then I wouldn't object to it. However, if it is a large class, having someone different come up on stage for each student would turn the ceremonies into a circus -- a long, drawn-out circus.

There is also another point to consider. The pin and other official markers of graduation is awarded by the school. It symbolizes that the student has achieved the standards set by the school and is accepted "by the school" as one of its graduates. It's not the family that "awards" the pin and/or diploma. It is the school and it would be more in keeping with the meaning of the pin to have it be physically given by a representative of the school.

Finally, what about those students who don't have kids or some other family member they can ask to perform that duty? What about someone who wants their dog onstage? What about people with multiple kids ... and stepkids ... and a grandmother who was a nurse ... etc. Where do you draw the line?

I think that it is terrific that some families and friends want to honor their mom (or wife, or daughter, whatever). If people want to include family and friends in the ceremony, that's fine. But find some relatively easy, quick way to do that so that the whole ceremony isn't disrupted. Friends and family can have parties etc. on their own.

llg (ddd is my home account)

andre · Mar 6, 2005

I'm not a student, but rather an old nurse who has sat through many ceremonies of various kinds over the years.
I think it depends on the circumstances - such as how large is the class? and ... Is it the school's tradition to have family members and friends do the pinning?
If it is a small class and there is a tradition of having each student choose who does their pinning, then I wouldn't object to it. However, if it is a large class, having someone different come up on stage for each student would turn the ceremonies into a circus -- a long, drawn-out circus.
There is also another point to consider. The pin and other official markers of graduation is awarded by the school. It symbolizes that the student has achieved the standards set by the school and is accepted "by the school" as one of its graduates. It's not the family that "awards" the pin and/or diploma. It is the school and it would be more in keeping with the meaning of the pin to have it be physically given by a representative of the school.
Finally, what about those students who don't have kids or some other family member they can ask to perform that duty? What about someone who wants their dog onstage? What about people with multiple kids ... and stepkids ... and a grandmother who was a nurse ... etc. Where do you draw the line?
I think that it is terrific that some families and friends want to honor their mom (or wife, or daughter, whatever). If people want to include family and friends in the ceremony, that's fine. But find some relatively easy, quick way to do that so that the whole ceremony isn't disrupted. Friends and family can have parties etc. on their own.
llg (ddd is my home account)

At my school, pinning is not a school-sponsored or sanctioned event. It's OUR event--organized by us, paid for by us. We get to decide who we invite to speak, what music we play, and who gets to pin us. In many cases, students are choosing to have their spouse and/or their kids pin them. We also have to buy our pin and can choose whatever we want--for those who don't want to buy the school insignia pin, they may choose whatever "memento" they wish to substitute--a fancy schmancy new steth, or a bouquet of flowers. Whatever.

Yes, I do think that it depends on how your school sets it up--it "their" event or the students'? And I would agree that if there are 100 graduates it will take a looooooong time....in our program, knock wood, we will graduate 46 out of 48 students who began the program. And personally, I don't care if we're there for hours, it's our ceremony and I plan to applaud for everyone!

unknown99, BSN, RN · Mar 6, 2005

We were allowed to pick. There was one woman in our class that had all 6 of her children come up on the stage to pin her. I had my father and husband pin me. I chose my father because that was his last wish of me before he died of end-stage heart failure. He was in a wheelchair and my husband pushed him to the steps of the stage, i walked down off the stage so he could pin me.

llg, PhD, RN · Mar 6, 2005

At my school, pinning is not a school-sponsored or sanctioned event. It's OUR event--organized by us, paid for by us.

In your situation ... then by all means, have whomever you would like. That makes perfect sense.

However, some schools graduate large numbers of students from multiple programs (ADN, BSN, MSN, PhD) all at the same ceremony. If it is one of those kinds of events, it is a totally different matter.

Whatever is appropriate for your circumstances, I hope you enjoy it.

llg (ddd is my home account)

KristinWW · Mar 6, 2005

Beautiful! I got chills reading this!

We were allowed to pick. There was one woman in our class that had all 6 of her children come up on the stage to pin her. I had my father and husband pin me. I chose my father because that was his last wish of me before he died of end-stage heart failure. He was in a wheelchair and my husband pushed him to the steps of the stage, i walked down off the stage so he could pin me.

KristinWW · Mar 6, 2005

This is our school as well. WE pay for EVERYTHING! We do fundraising for the event, we pay for the pins, we organize the groups and the location.

In our case, this is the first time there will be older students. We have taken a beating this year from the younger students who do not understand family obligations. I think having the kids is a sweet idea, especially since they are the ones that keep you going when you think you just can't continue. Thanks for your response!

At my school, pinning is not a school-sponsored or sanctioned event. It's OUR event--organized by us, paid for by us. We get to decide who we invite to speak, what music we play, and who gets to pin us. In many cases, students are choosing to have their spouse and/or their kids pin them. We also have to buy our pin and can choose whatever we want--for those who don't want to buy the school insignia pin, they may choose whatever "memento" they wish to substitute--a fancy schmancy new steth, or a bouquet of flowers. Whatever.
Yes, I do think that it depends on how your school sets it up--it "their" event or the students'? And I would agree that if there are 100 graduates it will take a looooooong time....in our program, knock wood, we will graduate 46 out of 48 students who began the program. And personally, I don't care if we're there for hours, it's our ceremony and I plan to applaud for everyone!

shape0fmyheart · Mar 6, 2005

At my school, pinning is not a school-sponsored or sanctioned event. It's OUR event--organized by us, paid for by us. We get to decide who we invite to speak, what music we play, and who gets to pin us.

This is how it is at my school too. We are also the very first nursing class to be graduating so they're trying to implement a few "special" things for us. They have told us that if we wanted to have our entire family walk up on the stage to pin us, we can. I'm going to have my grandparents pin me, they're the ones who have supported me financially through school and they're the main reason I have kept myself going through tough times. I used to live with them and they've always been there for me when I needed them. Also, my grandmother found out she had ovarian cancer right as school started so that has been another motivation for me to finish school. She's been in remission for over a year but when she was first diagnosed we all had a big scare in wondering if she'd beat it or not.

Most people in my class have children and are planning on having them and/or spouses pin them.

webblarsk · Mar 6, 2005

When I graduated we were allowed to have 2 people come up for pinning. Some had their children.

prmenrs, RN · Mar 7, 2005

In the Navy, when an officer is promoted, the wife (or husband) often attaches his/her new shoulder boards or collar device.

I think it is a wonderful idea--very special for everybody!