Went to a pinning ceremony...I was disgusted...

Nursing Students General Students

Published

I volunteered at a pinning ceremony at the same college where I am currently enrolled.

It was the SADDEST ceremony I have ever seen. The graduates, showed up, in whatever scrubs that they wished to wear...wrinkled..there was zero consistency as far as who wore a cap vs who didn't.

There were no flowers, just the faculty...half of who didn't even dress up.

The refreshments were Walmart cookies and soda....THAT'S IT!

There was no budget to allow for it...and I am wondering how to approach the propect of possibly having each class start a fundraising from the first semester, for our pinning ceremony 2 years later...so it can be as simple or as elaborate as we want it to be.

What do you think?

Specializes in LTC, Med/Surg, Peds, ICU, Tele.

At our pinning we all wore traditional nursing attire, all white, no pants, and we wore caps. The one male student wore simple white. There were speeches, and each graduate wrote a short card thanking certain people who had been helpful which was read by one of the instructors as we went up to be pinned. Then we were met as we left the stage, after getting pinned, by whomever we chose. Those of us with children, husbands, etc, had our families meet us and escort us into the audience where they had saved a seat for us. The younger ones had their parents, boyfriends, etc escort them.

It was very simple, well planned, and nice. I don't remember it being expensive. There was no reception, everyone went off with htheir loved ones afterwards.

Not everyone cares about pinning.

I am not a sentimental type. If I could have, I would have totally skipped our pinning. I did, in fact, skip my LPN pinning and graduation. As I did for my four year graduation (other degree).

Does having no regard for a pinning ceremony make me value my education and hard work any less? No. I graduated at the top of my class. I worked very hard for my RN, personally, professionally, and academically. Honestly, my reward is just doing it and being done. I don't need cheesy music, cookies, full-of-themselves professors and fellow students making pat speeches full of cliches and silliness. I certainly don't need to make some stupid pledge to lead a life of purity, assist the physician in his work, yada, yada, yada, excuse me while I barf blood out my eyeballs.

If you want to have a nice pinning ceremony, fine. Do it. Organize it, raise or donate money for it, and carry it off with a bang. But don't expect everyone to think that is grand. Don't require us all to attend, or fund it. Not all of us need or want the pat on the back. Don't think just because we don't go for that sort of thing means that we don't have any regard for our career or ourselves. I paid cash for my schooling, worked full time, was a mother and wife, and slept very little for the last year. I have a lot of regard for myself and career. I have very little regard for ceremony. I would rather spend that time with my family, not with faculty and classmates, eating cookies, listening to badly written speeches, and walking down the aisle to terrible music. Yuck.

Sorry, not trying to rain on your parade--just trying to give another perspective. Not all of us live for nurisng school. It wasn't the best/most difficulty/most rewarding time of my life. It just was a time.

I'm happy to be done, but I'd rather celebrate privately than publicly. Maybe that's what bothers me; I'm a very private person, and public displays such as this make me so uncomfortable. That I am expected to participate and enjoy it makes it even worse for me.

Not everyone cares about pinning.

I am not a sentimental type. If I could have, I would have totally skipped our pinning. I did, in fact, skip my LPN pinning and graduation. As I did for my four year graduation (other degree).

Does having no regard for a pinning ceremony make me value my education and hard work any less? No. I graduated at the top of my class. I worked very hard for my RN, personally, professionally, and academically. Honestly, my reward is just doing it and being done. I don't need cheesy music, cookies, full-of-themselves professors and fellow students making pat speeches full of cliches and silliness. I certainly don't need to make some stupid pledge to lead a life of purity, assist the physician in his work, yada, yada, yada, excuse me while I barf blood out my eyeballs.

If you want to have a nice pinning ceremony, fine. Do it. Organize it, raise or donate money for it, and carry it off with a bang. But don't expect everyone to think that is grand. Don't require us all to attend, or fund it. Not all of us need or want the pat on the back. Don't think just because we don't go for that sort of thing means that we don't have any regard for our career or ourselves. I paid cash for my schooling, worked full time, was a mother and wife, and slept very little for the last year. I have a lot of regard for myself and career. I have very little regard for ceremony. I would rather spend that time with my family, not with faculty and classmates, eating cookies, listening to badly written speeches, and walking down the aisle to terrible music. Yuck.

Sorry, not trying to rain on your parade--just trying to give another perspective. Not all of us live for nurisng school. It wasn't the best/most difficulty/most rewarding time of my life. It just was a time.

I'm happy to be done, but I'd rather celebrate privately than publicly. Maybe that's what bothers me; I'm a very private person, and public displays such as this make me so uncomfortable. That I am expected to participate and enjoy it makes it even worse for me.

Geez. Sounds like you had a great experience in nursing school :o. I hope my attitude is much better when I reach the finish line. The pinning ceremony is a show of accomplishment. From what I hear it's a great accomplishment to actually graduate from a nursing program. It should be celebrated and acknowledged.

Wow, anurse2b09 you are absoutely right. Talk about bringing people down.

My pinning ceremony is next month and I can't wait. I worked very hard for this and I also worked full time while fulfilling my dream. It was not easy, but it is definitely very rewarding!!!

On the other hand, we have refreshments and flowers. We are to dress business casual, but we have to wear our lab coats!! The only reason the school does not have a big bash is because in years past most of the food got thrown away because everybody always goes out to dinner with their family afterwards, which is something I intend to do. So, refreshments make perfect sense.

We did have a fundraiser as well. We sold sweatshirts and T-shirts with the school name on them and NURSING underneath. It was a big hit. Our professors even bought them.

So, to all of you graduates and us soon to be graduates, CONGRATS!!!! We deserve it.

Geez. Sounds like you had a great experience in nursing school :o. I hope my attitude is much better when I reach the finish line. The pinning ceremony is a show of accomplishment. From what I hear it's a great accomplishment to actually graduate from a nursing program. It should be celebrated and acknowledged.

LOL, I felt the same way after reading that post. Can we say paranoid? We all don't equate eating a cookie with celebrating nursing school.

To each his own, but that poster's response seemed to reflect a NS experience far more negative than what I see on this forum. *shrugs*.

I hope her career goes better for her. Somehow.

This is what I was trying to tell you--not everyone feels the same about such ceremonies as you might, and to look down on them, think that somehow they value their education less, or they don't value their accomplishment is unreasonable, judgemental, and short-sighted.

I did great in nursing school, enjoyed learning, and have a great career. I'm proud of my accomplishments, but I don't need a pinning ceremony or a graduation to display that. I love love love being a nurse. I do not love public displays. I am not a bad nurse or a bad person because of this, and by implying this you are explemplifying exactly the attitude I was warning against.

I'm sorry if it came off as a downer; I do think you should be proud and celebrate as you see fit. But what one person thinks is grand, another might think is showy and over done. I hope that when you plan your pinning ceremonies, you are respectful of the wishes and ideas of all your classmates, not just interested in furthering what you think your pinning ceremony should be for you.

Does having no regard for a pinning ceremony make me value my education and hard work any less? No. I graduated at the top of my class. I worked very hard for my RN, personally, professionally, and academically. Honestly, my reward is just doing it and being done. I don't need cheesy music, cookies, full-of-themselves professors and fellow students making pat speeches full of cliches and silliness. I certainly don't need to make some stupid pledge to lead a life of purity, assist the physician in his work, yada, yada, yada, excuse me while I barf blood out my eyeballs.

If you want to have a nice pinning ceremony, fine. Do it. Organize it, raise or donate money for it, and carry it off with a bang. But don't expect everyone to think that is grand. Don't require us all to attend, or fund it. Not all of us need or want the pat on the back. Don't think just because we don't go for that sort of thing means that we don't have any regard for our career or ourselves. I paid cash for my schooling, worked full time, was a mother and wife, and slept very little for the last year. I have a lot of regard for myself and career. I have very little regard for ceremony. I would rather spend that time with my family, not with faculty and classmates, eating cookies, listening to badly written speeches, and walking down the aisle to terrible music. Yuck.

Amen, sister! When I finish NS, I plan to never think of it again. I never think about my HS graduation and I never expected to see any of them again. To me it would be like attending a X-mas party with co-workers. I only spend time with them during the week because I'm paid to. Why would I give up my free time to go to an after hours function with them. I'd rather stay home with my family who really matter to me. My biggest reward will be the ability to get a good job and be able to provide for my kids.

. I hope that when you plan your pinning ceremonies, you are respectful of the wishes and ideas of all your classmates, not just interested in furthering what you think your pinning ceremony should be for you.

Aren't pinning ceremonies only for those who wish to participate in them? If you're there, then no one is pushing their pinning ceremony agenda (heheheheh) on the attendees, nor their wishes or ideas. If you're there, you want to hear thosy cheesy speeches and listen to the instructors one more time.

Look, queenjean, it's just more cookies for everyone else if you don't go. It's OK. Really. And congratulations on your accomplishment. :yelclap:

That is very sad. I trained in a catholic hospital, and when it got closer to graduation we wondered what we were going to do.

We asked the hospital if they would let us use their chapel, and they did.

It was very nice. Cost us very little money.

Everyone dressed nice, the instructors pinned us and all 8 of us students had family members there. It was simple but nice.

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

You get what you pay for.

Definately think it should be student driven and not faculty and school driven.

Just say no to caps.

Good luck.

I don't intend to attend any ceremonies so I would never make suggestions. However, I would probably contribute $ if everyone was chipping in. I wouldn't want the rest of the group to be punished because I don't enjoy ceremonies.

Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

Ours I'm sure will be nice.........it'd be nicer if we all had a say in it. Our president basically plopped down a stack of fundraising flyers at the back of the room..told us we needed to sell 10-11 22.00 candles to raise our share...else we pay 40.00 a piece....I don't mind paying it, but to not have a say, to wind up paying for cheap cookies, punch, and a ceremony where 3 people dictate what happens to 54....that's just not right.

I'm of the opinion that when it comes down to it, I will make pinning and do whatever I have to for it....but wil I be happy about it....nope. My pinning will be at the bar afterwards with the friends that really got me through NS...

+ Add a Comment