Feedback: Who is going/went to their MD convocation?

[eddieberetta]

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Here's the rub:
We only get a couple months of summer break, and I did med school (and will go to residency) in different cities from where my family lives. And... convocation is in the middle of the summer, all the way across the country (I'll be back home for the first part)...

and

My parents can't come to convocation due to some other commitments happening at that time that can't be changed.

Should I go? Feedback from graduees and soon-to-be's appreciated.

Cheers

 

[Celiac Plexus]

I know my parents are really psyched for it... they are so proud of me it's a little embarassing. A lot of my friends are coming too so in a way I have no choice even if I wanted to skip it which I definitely do not.

I didn't care too much about my undergrad graduation. I graduated with around 6000 other people in a sports arena. That one was really for my parents... I think that they enjoyed it more than I did.

But this graduation from medical school is a lot more personal. I have made a lot of friends that I respect and admire, and chances are I won't see them for a long time. Certainly this is the only time we will all be together like this again.

Moreover, this graduation marks my entry into the profession that I have chosen for myself. My classmates are my future peers and colleagues. These are the people, for better or for worse, I have chosen to work with for the rest of my life. I want the chance to experience their graduations too. Take some cool pictures, and raise the glass a few times with them. Make that one final memory of us all together. I'm even (me and some classmates) throwing an after-graduation party for one last chance to act crazy and get down!

I think it would be a shame to not attend your graduation. Why end something as momentous as your entry into the field with an anonymous wimper? Go, have fun, wear the goofy robe, and clown around with your buddies one last time. In the years to come, I think that you will be happy that you made the effort and went.

 

[Brewster]

I agree with everything Plexus said.

Plus, we get to wear those cool robes with the velvet bars on the arms. Four years of hard work is really paying off now...

 

[Castro Viejo]

So how many of you out there will have one of those cool octagonal caps?

We have a mortar board (four-corner cap a la undergraduate degree). 🙁

Hey, at least it'll be at Carnegie Hall! 😀

 

[sweetfynesse]

Assuming you're not as sentimental as the rest of the folks on this page, I say don't go. It sounds like you want to spend as much time as you can with your family before embarking on yet another professional move, which is understandable. You've seen your classmates for the last four years, and will keep in touch with those you want to anyway. If you can't spare the two days, or just don't want to, it's your life and noone will fault you for it. Personally, I'm only going because my family can and will love to be there. I think we recite the Hippocratic Oath, too....so, at least to some degree it will be memorable. The silly robes I can take or leave, but they will make great pictures for my future kids to laugh at some day. Hell, it only happens once, and it may turn out better than you think. This probably doesn't help at all, so good luck with your choice.

 

[mikecwru]

Originally posted by ******
So how many of you out there will have one of those cool octagonal caps?

We have a mortar board (four-corner cap a la undergraduate degree). 🙁

Hey, at least it'll be at Carnegie Hall! 😀

CWRU has the motar board and black robes with green trim.

More importantly, what did you guys have to pay for this crap? It was $60 to RENT this robe for one day after 46k x 4 for tuition.

mike

 

[Foxxy Cleopatra]

Do most people have a separate convocation and graduation day? That's what we did here. Sounds like the black robes with green bars are the standard as well as the mortar board cap.

I'd go if it is important for you to see your friends/classmates again. Some people had a ton of people there so I think it may have been more of an occasion for them. I'm in a different region of the country from where I grew up so I didn't have much family to see me but I went because I wanted to see my friends again- I had a great time so it was worth it.

 

[Castro Viejo]

I think you'll have a separate convocation if you attend a school within a much larger university. Here at SUNY it's really just the med school, so we've only got one graduation.

My friends at NYU have the violet robe and green bars, but with the fancy-pants octagonal cap. Oh well... The injustices of the public sector.

 

[Mad Scientist]

All of the allopathic medical schools will have green bars...it's the color of the M.D. degree. The color of the robe might vary by school.

 

[eddieberetta]

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I am still mulling it over but I am leaning toward going!

 

[Brewster]

Originally posted by Mad Scientist
All of the allopathic medical schools will have green bars...it's the color of the M.D. degree. The color of the robe might vary by school.

Here is an interesting website I found if anyone is curious regarding the cap and gown conventions:

http://www.acenet.edu/faq/costume_code.html

 

[UI2003]

Our school had black robes with three black velvet bars on each arm and two black velvet bars which ran the length of the gown in front. Our tassel was green as was the bottom part of the hood. The top of the hood had yellow either representing science or my school's colors (black/yellow). Very fancy-schmancy in any event. My vote is to go - if only for the pomp and circumstance 😉

Congrats to all the new MDs!