Ripped Off

Published

Specializes in LTC & Correctional Nursing.

This might get kinda long so I will start out by thanking everyone that reads it! As many of you know I am graduating October 1st with my degree in Practical Nursing. My school only has once a year mass graduation ceremonies (every May), I knew that going into the program and totally understood but I was told that EVERY nursing program would have a pinning ceremony, as was everyone else in the nursing program that I have spoke to. So last week my class is told that we will be having our pinning on November 21st, we were given a time, the place, how many tickets we could have so we could plan on who to invite (8 tickets per person), told about parking, what to wear, and what to expect etc. We were all very excited, as you can imagine. So yesterday they come into our class and tell us that everything is changed and our pinning will be October 3rd. Well that sounded great until they told us that we were going to be pinned with the MA students because it is not fair that we get pinned and they don't and that the pinning will be held at 1pm on a Friday, at the school and we are only allowed to invited 2 people. I am a married mother of two kids! How is that fair? Many of us are married or involved and have childern and other family members that have supported us through out this. My very elderly grandma was looking forward to watching my get pinned and to bring her into my old school with all kinds of other classes walking around and being loud just seems for the lack of a better word trashy. So many of us are upset because we feel lied to. How can they expect people to take off work in the middle of the day to attend this?

Then when everyone started objecting to this new "pinning" we are told not to make to big deal of a fuss and shut our mouths or we may lose it all together. As it stands now we are boycotting the "pinning" and having our own after graduation. It just is one more thing to worry about that we shouldn't have to when it has been promised to us from the beginning. Thank you for reading this....any advice or comments or encouragement would help so much at this point! :crying2:

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

I wouldn't boycott or cause a fuss. Show up, get your pins and then have your own ceremony with the rest of your class on the original date as scheduled. You can definately make it very nice. Find a nurse to officiate for you. Best of luck. Sorry your school has done this to you. It really stinks!

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Maybe there was a legitimate reason things won't go as planned. I don't want to marginalize your feelings, but I do not find pinning a big deal. I don't even remember the details of mine.

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Have your own pinning ceremony. MA's never had a tradition of getting capped or pinned and it's too bad that they feel badly.

And congratulations.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
I do not find pinning a big deal. I don't even remember the details of mine.

That's kinda sad. I'm sorry :crying2:

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sorry,hope it works out

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I say..Get them..before they get you!..Plan your own celebration on another date..Go in all smiles and excited for your Pinning..knowing you have your own party to look forward to. When life hands you lemons..make lemonade!

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The MA students feel "cheated" because they were not going to have a pinning ceremony, so the school is placating them and adding them to YOUR pinning ceremony? WAAH!!

MA's were not around when the tradition of a pinning ceremony came about, and have no professional history in doing so, so why should they feel slighted? Just another attempt to blend professional nurses into "vanilla"nurse wannabees and minimize the accomplishments of professional nurses. Flo is probably turning in her grave at the thought of "make believe nurses", making a fuss about this.

This is another attempt to "blur" the difference of the two careers. The PTB want everyone to believe that we are all the same. I would also protest the "Make believe pinning ceremony", and have my own. What a shame that the school had done a "bait and switch". I would make ALOT OF NOISE about this. But them I am one of those in your face, NYers, who do not sit around and wait for some one to tell me that I need their permission to be angry at being cheated. JMHO, and my NY $0.02.

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

I'd skip this pinning ceremony altogether. It is inconsequential in the long run.

To make an even bolder statement, I'd skip the graduation ceremony out of protest.

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Specializes in LTC/SNF, Psychiatric, Pharmaceutical.

You did get ripped off. You paid for the school and the ceremony after all. But to me, it's not the rescheduling so much - yes, things do happen - it's the whole hateful attitude of "if you complain, then you can just ____ off."

Very few places other than nursing school that you pay money to go to will treat you like a bunch of recalcitrant children and tell you to either shut up or they'll take something from you that you PAID for, for cryin' out loud! I got some of this same garbage when I was in school, and let me tell you, since I was paying full tuition every semester out of my own pocket, I got hot under the collar about the parking policies, reschedules, and unhelpful attitudes. We got shafted in favor of respiratory therapy and dental tech students constantly, and we were paying a lot more money than they were to be there. They got to park right by the building - we were told we'd be disciplined by the dean if we didn't park in a communal lot a mile away from the building.

If you guys are paying the salaries of these nursing instructors and coordinators, it should be that they go all out, just like anyone else you pay money to, to ensure your satisfaction.

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Specializes in LTC & Correctional Nursing.

Thank you all for your responses. I feel very torn by the whole thing. I am not upset about being rescheduled...I know in nursing you have to be flexible so those sort of things do not bother me. What gets me if the fact that we were suppose to have this nice ceremony that was traditional in a beautiful church and now it is at our school with the MA students and it has been completely cheapened. But most of my class has come together and already booked a site on Oct 10th in a nice local church and we are ordering our own pins and having food catered in and having some of our very supportive instructors pin us and officate the ceremony. It just would have been nice to get what we paid for and not have to go to this extra trouble. But this way my whole family can come. I am still unsure if I will go and get the pin that I paid for or if I will just skip it all together. Thank you all again. :wink2:

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I don't think you should be pinned with the MA students at all.

I'm not bashing MA's, but the program just isn't the same and in the vast majority of the USA, it's not even a legally recognized "profession" because the "certification" is issued by the school and not the state.

I would be furious to. It's a slap in the face and I am floored that the school is doing it.

MA's should have their own pinning or just a graduation...to compare it with nursing is like saying because someone won a tennis competition in their hometown that they are ready to take on Wimbledon.

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