Nursing/Pinning FAQs

Hello, hello dear readers!

I’ve gotten a lot of similar questions from readers and social media followers, so I thought an FAQ post would be just the thing.

What’s a pinning ceremony?

It’s honestly a lot like a graduation ceremony, except it’s just for the nursing students (RN/LPN). You have speakers, you walk across the stage, people clap…so it’s largely the same components of a graduation ceremony.

Except you don’t wear a cap and gown, and you get a pin when you walk instead of a diploma.

Since I had joined the honors society, I also got an honors society pin and an honors society cord.

Do you have to wear white?

People do typically wear white as a nod to white nursing uniforms of the past, but it’s not a mandatory code. The two pinning ceremonies I’ve seen at my school had people mostly wearing white dresses/pantsuits but also some black.

My sister graduated from this nursing school years ago, and she said back then, they all had to wear their white uniforms for the pinning ceremony.

Do you have a graduation ceremony too?

Yep! There’s a formal graduation this week for the entire school, not just the nursing students. And that’s the one where I’ll have a cap and gown.

(Which is pretty exciting for me because I have never had one before! I was homeschooled so long ago, there were no graduation ceremonies available for homeschooled students.)

What’s the NCLEX?

The NCLEX is the national licensing exam for nurses and it’s separate from getting a nursing degree. I currently have my nursing degree, but I haven’t taken the NCLEX yet.

There is an NCLEX for LPNs (Licensed Practical Nurses) and one for RNs (Registered Nurses). People who have a bachelor’s of nursing and an associate degree in nursing both take the NCLEX for RNs.

And when I finish my online bachelor’s program, I will not have to take another NCLEX, because I’ll already be a full-fledged RN!

When will you take the NCLEX?

That’s a good question; I don’t know! I have submitted all the paperwork required on my end and I have also paid all the fees ($376 total).

So now I am just waiting for the board of nursing to verify with my school that I have actually graduated, and then they will send me an Approval To Test number (ATT). Once I get that, I will get some available dates to sit for the NCLEX.

I hear it takes 4-6 weeks, but I’m hoping they underpromise and overdeliver. 😉 We’ll see.

When do you start your new job? Where are you going to work?

I have a job lined up on the floor where I currently work as a tech, and I’ll start with the new grad cohort in August.

In June and July, I’ll just work two shifts a week as a tech, which means those two summer months will be pretty easy. 🙂

The new grad program is like training wheels for new nurses, to make sure we get launched with the appropriate knowledge and experience. I want to be a safe nurse, but obviously, my hospital also has a vested interest in ensuring I’m a safe nurse!

Do you have your BSN now?

Nope! I have an associate’s degree in nursing, but it is just as legit for bedside nursing as a BSN is.

We take exactly the same NCLEX as the BSN students do, we get all the same practical training, and we are RNs, not LPNs.

Are you going to get your BSN?

Yep! I start my online program in the fall. It’s honestly a pretty easy bridge; the classes are comprised of things like paper-writing and discussion boards (and almost no exams. Amazing!!!)

And the topics are things like nurse leadership, healthcare systems, community health, and global health. So, it’s less about the day-to-day practicalities of nursing and more about theory and systems.

It’s a 100% online program, designed for working nurses, and it should only take me 18 months to finish. It is going to be a million percent easier than what I have been doing, and I am not stressed about it.

Paper-writing and discussion boards? Easy-peasy. I write every day as it is!

Do you have to get your BSN?

My hospital does require you to get it within five years of graduation, so yes, I have to do it.

I honestly don’t think it’s really going to make much of a difference in my nursing skill level, but a BSN is a pretty expected standard for most hospitals. And if I want to get my masters and teach one day, obviously I’ll need a BSN in my pocket.

So, I’m just gonna bite the bullet and knock it out right away while I’m still in school mode.

Won’t you need your nursing notes/flashcards/books?

A lot of people asked this when I posted photos on social media of me decluttering all my school papers.

The short answer is: no, and that’s because of what I said above. The BSN classes are really entirely different than the types of classes I’ve been taking, so my notes are not going to be necessary for that program.

I also don’t need them for NCLEX prep. I have an NCLEX prep book and also some online NCLEX programs that I can use to review for the exam. Those resources come with lots of practice test questions, which are really helpful in preparing for the NCLEX.

I think that covers it! But if you have other questions, drop them in the comments. 🙂