Pinning

Beyond SW

Classmates/Teamwork

I LOVED pinning. It was such a nice, fun day. From arriving early in the morning to set up the flowers on the stage and goofing around with some of the best friends I had ever made to walking across the stage to be pinned by Ms. V.

We made it!

Practice makes perfect:

That morning we got to practice what we would do during the ceremony.

First, you get to practice when to stand up and sit down. Remember that your brain is pretty much fried by then and this becomes a Herculean task. Next, we needed to learn how to walk to our chairs. Mr. S said, "Line up in alphabetical order." I kid you not-he actually said that! Then he took pity on us and actually read what order we were supposed to be in. We couldn't even stand up or sit down correctly for goodness sake. Alphabetical order? I don't think so.

Alphabetical order

Ceremony

Our pinning was poignant because Ms. V retired and she said that she graduated with us. We planned a surprise presentation for her. We were able to thank her for thirty-plus years of dedication to her students. She was touched. We also surprised Mr.S with a presentation. He doesn't like surprises as much. Bear that in mind- you still have  an incomplete on your transcript at this point.

Don't Surprise Your Teachers

It was wonderful to be surrounded by family and friends. My mom came all the way from England. I am so glad I actually passed that final and got to go to pinning. She might have been a little miffed otherwise. I remember obsessively checking and rechecking to see if my grade was posted in PAWS-that was what would make the difference between going to pinning or not. When it finally appeared on the screen, I cried my eyes out and my mom gave me a big English hug.

my mummy and me

So what happens at pinning besides sitting down and standing up?

There are speeches. And then there a few more speeches. We had a wonderful speech by Dr. M about how we are highly trained PROFESSIONALS and about how far nursing has come. This made me proud to be a part of this profession. We are NOT angels. We are professionals. Remember that! Dr. M confused my mummy a little. She thought it was so nice that a doctor was encouraging us nurses, until I explained that he was neither an angel nor a MD, but a doctor nurse.

Our classmates gave inspirational speeches and speeches full of humor. There was inspiration and humor throughout this experience. I think it took us until pinning to see that.

From Jamieka, our inspirational speaker:

On an inspirational note we would like to thank the families of all the students because not only was this a trying time for us it was a trying time on you all as well.   Looking at our spouses, significant others, parents, children and friends you all were our TRUE inspiration, you all gave us the momentum and determination not to just give up and quit. I am always trying to encourage my classmates and boost their faith to help them make it through the program. So to the graduates as we go into this wonderful world of Nursing remember if you can make it through the program there is nothing you can’t do all you need is a little determination and lots of Faith!

And from our fearless leader, President Krystal:

Twas the Night Before Clinical

Twas the night before clinical and all through the house,

Nothing was stirring except for me and the computer mouse.

My uniform was hung over the door freshly pressed,

Thinking that my clinical instructor would send me home if I looked a mess.

The husband and kitty were asleep in the bed,

And I’m sure  having more exciting dreams in their head.

As I take my shower and put on my wrap,

I attempt to lie down for what seems more like a nap.

When from my night stand rang such an awful sound,

I smacked the alarm with a frown. 

As I approach the bathroom to attempt to become tidy,

I kept thinking to myself,  “Thank goodness it’s Friday!”

I pour my coffee and prepare to leave,

Hopeful there are many things I can achieve. 

The moon mocks me as I drive down I-40,

But I will be at the hospital for clinical shortly.  

When to my liking my clinical mates appear,

And we all walk in showing no fear.

A patient seeing little green men in the corner,

You need to check the tox screen before administering that order.

As we walked onto the unit all the same,

The constant beeping seemed more like a game.

Now ventilator, now IV pump, now foley cath,

on call light, on EKG, on rectal tube status.

From the front of the unit all the way to the back,

Now dash away, dash away, dash way to the code.

Residents and nurses across the unit they flew,

When they meet an obstacle,

A patient who is blue.

So up to the crash cart items were threw,

Drawing a rainbow, compressions, and intubation too.

And then in a sound I heard from the screen,

The slight beeping of the heart rate machine.

As the staff members departed from the room,

To their normal duties they resume.

I return to assess the patient that was assigned,

Being respectful to the unconscious mind.

Multiple lines from several locations,

appearing as something foreign,

then thinking to myself “I have learned a lot on this rotation”.

I began my assessment, from his head to his toes,

Being sure I remove his support hose.

A bundle of IV’s hang from the pump, 

I pick up the room so it doesn’t look like a dump.

I find an open computer to begin my documentation,

Sure to mention the PRN medications.

I finish the shift assessment while going through each tab,

and before moving from my seat,

I electronically sign by clicking “assessment complete”.

At the end of the day to our instructor we meet,

She congratulates us for making it through this feat.

We sat together in our last clinical enjoying treats,

Exchanging emails for references before we hit the streets.

As we walked to the garage wearing our coats of white,

The sparkle at the end of the tunnel is becoming ever so bright.

We make it to our spaces and I get in my car,

I take a moment for myself to say, “Thank goodness I got this far.”

As my anxiety builds knowing school is coming to a conclusion,

And it seems I am in a constant state of mental confusion.

Looking cover the material that was Ms V's part,

Often makes me question, “Is this nursing or abstract art?”

Mr. S came to class to teach us all the adventures of MeeMaw,

 And contently saying “Focus on the slides y’all”

Dr. M comparing angels to our profession,  

Often emphasizing the nursing education progression.

As we all stand before you dressed all in white,

Happy Pinning to all, and to all a good night!!! 

A big part of the ceremony is the pledge we say:

We say it while holding candles, all together, dressed in head to toe in our white scrubs. The last time we do anything together as a class. Look around and remember those terrified faces during orientation. Think about just what we actually achieved-it's amazing.

I  Pledge Allegiance...

We stood in line to get the actual pin and cheered as each one of us went on stage. These were the people I had spent hours of my life with for the last two years. The people who picked me up when I was down, who encouraged me, who helped me. The people who knew what it was like to go through this experience. The people I had become incredibly close to. The cheering was not loud enough to express what we felt about each other.

Mr.S handed us our pin on the way up. Everyone remarked how much he seemed to know and care about each student. Ms. V pinned us on stage. She had words of wisdom for each one of us and we felt like she really cared about us. I kind of felt like she needed a step ladder to pin some of us. Ms. L will definitely not have that problem. Mr. K handed us our candle on the way off the stage. He was another favorite teacher of ours and it was wonderful to be congratulated by him as the rest of the faculty cheered us on (or maybe they were cheering because they were finally getting rid of us? As far as I know, our composite picture is still on the wall and not shoved behind a garbage can in the conference room.)

The SNGA provided the reception for us. I was touched that they specially ordered kosher cake so my family could participate. That was sweet. And it was good cake. I have two teenage boys among my kids, I think they ate half of one cake.

Kosher cake

 And then we all went out and had a HUGE party of our own. Oh, wait, no we didn't because we had to GET UP EARLY and be at a HESI review class at 8 am for three days. Joy oh joy.

After pinning, I still didn't feel like I had totally graduated. I didn't even feel like I had totally graduated when I passed the HESI. Still didn't feel like I had totally graduated when I passed boards. I finally felt like I graduated when my license was framed and on my wall.

[And in case anyone is wondering, here are the stats. People in my class who went all the way through without repeating a class-THIRTEEN. People in the LPN-RN track who went all the way through-NINE.]

Our bulletin board which has such inspirational sayings as "Yellow" written on it.