As a level one nursing student, I decided I was going to volunteer to take pictures for the graduating class. The only nurses I have ever known were in the Air Force, and they don't participate in a "pinning ceremony." On the day I went to take pictures, I had no idea what it was, what it entailed or how it worked. So, for those of you who are not nurses, this is what I gathered from it:
A pinning ceremony is a symbolic way of welcoming a newly graduated nurse into the nursing profession. The graduating nurse chooses an RN to perform the actual pinning, which is done on a stage in front of your classmates, faculty, family and friends. It's a much smaller, more personal ceremony than graduation and has been a tradition among nurses for many, many years.
I watched as some students chose to have family members who were RNs pin them, some had co-workers, others had friends, and some chose to have a nursing school faculty member do their pinning. My first thought was, "I am going to have to do this in a year and I don't know a single RN in Texas." My next thought was, "How do I even choose?"
I'm a pretty sentimental person, especially when it comes to situations that only occur once in a lifetime...so I really wanted this person to mean something to me. I wanted to be able to look back years from pinning day, and think of that person and smile. From that day forward, after the ceremony, I started thinking about who I wanted that one person to be. There were many factors for me to consider.
I wanted it to be someone I could model my nursing career after, someone who I could look up to and say, "that's the type of nurse I want to be." It also had to be someone who was patient, compassionate and empathetic...who wasn't judgmental, who remembered what it was like to be a student and who I could honestly say was an all around kind hearted person. I wanted it to be someone I could keep in touch with after graduation, someone I could call a mentor and someone I could call up as a brand new nurse and ask for guidance, advice, etc.
After much consideration, I narrowed it down to two people. After a full semester of clinicals with Mrs. Lewis, my decision was very easy...
One day in class we were doing skits. Mrs. Lewis sat behind my row and on break, I'm sure after over hearing a conversation I was having with Stephen, asked me who the person on my computer screen was. In my experience, telling the truth about my sexuality has not always worked out in my favor, and her being my clinical instructor, I was very hesitant to tell her the truth. But I did.
Instead of the thousand questions I normally receive when a person first finds out I'm a lesbian, and the shocked look that engulfs most faces, I got the most reassuring response I had in a very long time. "Oh, okay. My step-son is gay and my husband and I are going to his wedding in Vegas this February."
I earned a ton of respect for her that day, not because I thought she approved, but because whether she did or didn't, she never led me to believe that she thought she was any better than I was and we continued on our conversation like I just told her the sky was blue.
On another occasion, I was having a really bad week, I was stressed to the max and failing Med Surg. After post conference one day, I made it out to the car before I realized I had left my bag in the conference room. I went back to get it and Mrs. Lewis and Mrs. Hicks were still there finishing up. I knew I needed some extra help because I just wasn't understanding the material. After a few tears and a quick pep talk, Mrs. Lewis reminded me that I had her telephone number and if during my study sessions this weekend, I had any questions to send her a text or call and she would be willing to help answer any questions I had. I ended up having lots of questions, she answered them all and I passed my exam that Monday morning. The following week in post conference, even though she's not a classroom instructor, she had a Med Surg book out and helped us all review for the next exam. Not because she had to, but because she knew the majority of us were struggling.
It was then I realized the genuine care and concern she has for her students. I began to pay closer attention and listened to the way she spoke to my fellow classmates. She has always been eager to teach, with an easy-going approach.
She's taught me many tips and tricks for completing clinical skills more effectively and efficiently. I feel through having her as a clinical instructor, I have learned "real life" nursing skills, not "text book" nursing. (not that text book nursing is wrong, it's just not always realistic.) I'll never forget the "ah-ha" moment I had when she showed me how to get air out of a line by simply using a 10cc syringe. It seems simple enough, but it's not something I would have learned from my text.
She has been so patient with me. I'll be the first to admit I am sometimes pretty needy, demanding and emotional. I know I must drive her crazy with my insistent questioning, especially when it's on a weekend, when she's trying to enjoy her free time away from the hospital and away from the school. Regardless, she always answers and always helps when I ask. I'm sure she gets frustrated when she tells me how to do something more than 3 times and I still don't understand it, but she explains it a 4th, 5th, and 6th time, or until it makes sense to me. And even though I feel dumb for asking something more than once or twice, she always reassures me that I'm doing just fine.
I've seen nurses in the hospital who walk around frantic, crabby, and on edge. I've heard them speak to students poorly, snap at co-workers and ignore patients who require a little extra care. I admire the way she keeps her composure and professionalism when dealing with those difficult people/patients and her "firm but fair" attitude. I hope one day I can find that same balance.
Mostly though, it's her genuine kindness. You can hear it in the way she talks to her patients, the communication she has with her students and in the way she treats those around her. (Read Mrs. Finkle) Her presence at a clinical instantly calms my day...she has an aura around her that can lighten a mood and make you smile when you're on the verge of tears. (it has happened to me many times in nursing school)
I have had the privileged of having Mrs. Lewis for Med Surg 1, Med Surg 2, and Med Surg 3 clinicals. (which is almost unheard of) In all this time, I have never wavered in my decision to have her do my pinning ceremony, not one time. In fact, the more time I spend listening and learning, the more I realize I could not have crossed paths with a better teacher, nurse and person.
* For Mrs. Lewis: I don't think people realize the impact they can have on another life, or how deep their influence runs, but I hope you know you hold a very special place in my heart. You have been a really big part of my journey through nursing school and I could never thank you enough for your support, guidance, and kindness. When I get out into the nursing world, I'm going to start with the things I've learned from you, and I hope one day in the future we cross paths in a hospital somewhere and you're proud of the nurse I am.*
She has been so patient with me. I'll be the first to admit I am sometimes pretty needy, demanding and emotional. I know I must drive her crazy with my insistent questioning, especially when it's on a weekend, when she's trying to enjoy her free time away from the hospital and away from the school. Regardless, she always answers and always helps when I ask. I'm sure she gets frustrated when she tells me how to do something more than 3 times and I still don't understand it, but she explains it a 4th, 5th, and 6th time, or until it makes sense to me. And even though I feel dumb for asking something more than once or twice, she always reassures me that I'm doing just fine.
I've seen nurses in the hospital who walk around frantic, crabby, and on edge. I've heard them speak to students poorly, snap at co-workers and ignore patients who require a little extra care. I admire the way she keeps her composure and professionalism when dealing with those difficult people/patients and her "firm but fair" attitude. I hope one day I can find that same balance.
Mostly though, it's her genuine kindness. You can hear it in the way she talks to her patients, the communication she has with her students and in the way she treats those around her. (Read Mrs. Finkle) Her presence at a clinical instantly calms my day...she has an aura around her that can lighten a mood and make you smile when you're on the verge of tears. (it has happened to me many times in nursing school)
I have had the privileged of having Mrs. Lewis for Med Surg 1, Med Surg 2, and Med Surg 3 clinicals. (which is almost unheard of) In all this time, I have never wavered in my decision to have her do my pinning ceremony, not one time. In fact, the more time I spend listening and learning, the more I realize I could not have crossed paths with a better teacher, nurse and person.
* For Mrs. Lewis: I don't think people realize the impact they can have on another life, or how deep their influence runs, but I hope you know you hold a very special place in my heart. You have been a really big part of my journey through nursing school and I could never thank you enough for your support, guidance, and kindness. When I get out into the nursing world, I'm going to start with the things I've learned from you, and I hope one day in the future we cross paths in a hospital somewhere and you're proud of the nurse I am.*
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