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

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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?

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...

Now THAT would be a memorable pinning.

I totally agree with your sentiments. And I still hate the cookie/punch thing. Why??????

Again, congratulations to all of us, no matter how we celebrate. We know how fabulous we are.

Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

As Billy Crystal would say "We ARE Marv ah lous!!!!"

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Aren't pinning ceremonies only for those who wish to participate in them?

I wish. When I told my instructor that I wouldn't be attending, she informed me it was a requirement for graduation. Even if my instructor would not have told me that, there was a lot of peer pressure to attend. I was flat out told (by my instructor) that it would be a snub to my fellow students if I did not attend, and that if I ever wanted a reference from an instructor in the program, I had better be there. Only a medical excuse was acceptable; it was figured into our classroom time.

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.

If you don't attend, do they just send you your pin in the mail? Or do you not value the pin at all?

Wow, I've never heard of a school that withheld diplomas if students didn't come to a ceremony. That doesn't even sound legal. Why would they want someone there that didn't want to be there? It's not like you're incapable of being a nurse if you don't like public displays. If you show up but make it obvious that you're under duress, do you still graduate? I checked into the whole thing at my school before I signed up. I won't be forced into anything if I choose against it. Besides, you don't get the pin or anything else for free. I'll have spent enough money by the time it's over.

If you don't attend, do they just send you your pin in the mail? Or do you not value the pin at all?

Nah, I value the diploma and the license. Too many nurses at my hospital get into pissing matches about which school they attended. Why add to it with a pin that just designates a school? Also, why advertise for them for free, if I had to pay tuition?

I wish. When I told my instructor that I wouldn't be attending, she informed me it was a requirement for graduation. Even if my instructor would not have told me that, there was a lot of peer pressure to attend. I was flat out told (by my instructor) that it would be a snub to my fellow students if I did not attend, and that if I ever wanted a reference from an instructor in the program, I had better be there. Only a medical excuse was acceptable; it was figured into our classroom time.

That's just wrong, ugh. Sounds like the middle school Christmas concert.....everyone has to go or you flunk. Those pins are spendy....$350 for the silver, and who knows how much for the gold. I know they can't force you to buy one....but they shouldn't force students to go if they don't want to.

My school doesn't have one, and I'm glad. I've already graduated from one university, and that was a long and interminable ceremony. I actually dozed off during a couple of the speeches. Nursing students can either attend or not attend the general university graduation, and we have an optional "graduation banquet" that student council and such raise money for. I don't put much value on ceremony either, and if not for these boards, I would still have never heard of nursing "caps" or "pinning." I don't have a single nurse in my family, so I wasn't aware there was any tradtion associated with the profession. For those who it's important to though, more power to you, it's just nor for me. Plus I don't care for cookies, and really don't drink punch either unless somebody spikes it...

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.

:cheers:

Hi My Name Is Sue And Went To School Back In The 70's And 80's For Or Tech-80's For Nursing And Fivce Months Before Graduation We Were In A Car Accident. Well I Started Back To School This September. Before That I Thught I Would Work In A Dr.s Office And Went To Start Medical Assistant........i Just Cant Believe That There Are People Out There Giving Shots And Etc. That Have 2 Weeks Of Training In Giving Injections And Medication....needless To Say I Quit And Went Back To The College I Had To Drop When I Became Disabled. Needless To Say I Am 52 And I Wa A "white" Nurse---you Know White Head To Toe. I Have Run Into The Same Thing In The Lack Of Professionalism---what Gives? I Kow I May Be "little" Older But When I Have Been In The Hospital For The Various Surgeries I Had The Professioalism Meant That They Really Didnt Care About Me If They Dont Care About Themselves! I Really Didnt Even Know They Had A Pinning Ceremony Anymore! I Am Surprised That They Even Had That! Well I Am Fullfilling My Dream And I Am Back In School! Back In The Day We Had A Candlelight Ceremony And Flowers And Major Refreshments And Family And Faculty. We Even Had A Capping Ceremony. They Dont Wear Caps Anymore----at Least No Where I Am Going....i Am Glad To Be Back But There Are Some That Eating And Sleeping Nursing Just Dont Get That Workign That Hard Deserves Some Respect Of Yourself If You Are To Get. I Can See Why You Were Disappointed. Sue Thanks For Speaking Up...to Me That Is Part Of The -not Job- But Profession.

Specializes in NICU.

I wish our school had a pinning ceremony...

I have been away from the board for awhile, but I want to thank everyone for their responses.

I plan to bring it up at the nursing club meeting next time.

I think there should be food of some type....light appetizers...but not a full meal...most will want to go out to dinner afterwards with their families.

I also agree that 2 or 3 students shouldn't make decisions for everyone, but I also don't agree that an entire ceremony should be changed because 2 or 3 don't like the decisions that are being made. You can't make everyone happy.

To me, it would be nice to have a powerpoint presentation, maybe some flowers, light appetizers, but I think the appearance of the graduates bothered me the most. It just looked like everyone crawled out of bed and showed up......didn't look like a group of professionals to me...looked like a group of cheap hotel maids...sorry, but if you saw this yourself, you would agree.

To me, no use complaining unless you have a plan to fix it. I do like the black pants, white blouse, and lab coat thing...that is very inexpensive, everyone has a pair of black pants, and it brings uniformity to the group without an additional cost.

I also like the idea of being pinned by someone that is important to us...another nurse that has influenced us, or a faculty member of our choice if someone doesn't have someone in their life....that brings meaning.

I have a dear aunt that is an RN, retired, that has encouraged me so much along the way....it would made her day and mine, if she could be the one to pin me.

Thanks for the suggestions...if anyone has any other suggestions, I'll be digging for the thread later.

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