graduation attendance required??

[sleepaholic]

---

Members do not see this ad.

med school graduation is a required event at my school - is this the norm? seems silly to me that the graduation ceremony should be required. just wondering if other schools are the same.

 

[goooooober]

med school graduation is a required event at my school - is this the norm? seems silly to me that the graduation ceremony should be required. just wondering if other schools are the same.

Be happy. At my school, not only must we attend graduation ceremony to get our degree, but our graduation is lumped in together with PAs, Biomedical Sciences, pharmacy and other programs. They say they do this to encourage equality amongst healthcare professionals. I say they do it to save money. Either way, I have to sit through a 4-6 hour ceremony for no good reason. Peace out.

 

[Winged Scapula]

We had this discussion a while back in the CLinical Rotations forum. Apparently it is mandatory, with some schools claiming they will not "graduate" you if you don't attend the ceremony. I"m not sure they can actually do that, but you should check the requirements for graduation and see if it does really say you must attend graduation ceremonies.

 

[Mumpu]

Uh. Why would you not attend your own graduation?

 

[sleepaholic]

quote: "Uh. Why would you not attend your own graduation?"

i cant think of a single reason why i would want to attend.

 

[VALSALVA]

quote: "Uh. Why would you not attend your own graduation?"

i cant think of a single reason why i would want to attend.

Ditto. I'd much rather be golfing at Pebble Beach or hiking in the Rockies that day. My school requires my presence as well.

 

[doctawife]

Are we talking med school or residency graduation? At least at my program, the residency graduation was a blast - mucho booze, good times with friends, a last blast of togetherness before a final parting.

Med school graduation... much more boring. Skip it if at all possible.

 

[Apollyon]

quote: "Uh. Why would you not attend your own graduation?"

i cant think of a single reason why i would want to attend.

Use the quote button. It's your friend.


Why go to graduation? Are you married? Did you have a ceremony in front of a justice of the peace with the two witnesses, with no reception?

The graduation ceremony is symbolic, like many things we do as humans. In this case, it is the culmination of all your years of work, and an opportunity for family, friends, and loved ones to publicly recognize you, and see you recognized, for your efforts.

There is also the symbolic "hooding" or "vesting", which many places do, which is the "welcoming you into the profession" thing.

Now, fine, if you can't think of even one reason, that's you. But for my n=5 of college and university graduations, from small school to large state university, there wasn't a seat available, and there were struggles for tickets. That tells me that families and other graduates don't feel the same as you.

Maybe you don't respect your school, or you are jaded at a young age. However, the graduation ceremony is your chance to be in the spotlight, even if it is for 15 seconds, and it won't happen again (probably).

 

[Mayhem]

Use the quote button. It's your friend.


Maybe you don't respect your school, or you are jaded at a young age. However, the graduation ceremony is your chance to be in the spotlight, even if it is for 15 seconds, and it won't happen again (probably).

Not trying to stoke the fire here but what does going to graduation have to do with respecting you school? I mean, I'm going to mine but it's hardly a major event in my life.

Edit: Ours isn't mandatory anymore because students complained that it was unfair, especially cause many people had to move halfway across country.

 

[Apollyon]

Not trying to stoke the fire here but what does going to graduation have to do with respecting your school?

People who, for whatever their reason, have issues with the school they went to can "vote with their feet" by not going to functions such as graduation.

People who see it as a means to an end and not more, and don't have any respect (or any left) is that to which I was referring.

 

[Mayhem]

People who, for whatever their reason, have issues with the school they went to can "vote with their feet" by not going to functions such as graduation.

People who see it as a means to an end and not more, and don't have any respect (or any left) is that to which I was referring.

Oh right, the fight the power types. I bet the college was left in tears because Billy skipped graduation. 🙄 My bad.

 

[Apollyon]

Oh right, the fight the power types. I bet the college was left in tears because Billy skipped graduation. 🙄 My bad.

Dude, I'm just saying, that's all. No need to be sarcastic.

 

[xaelia]

I am going to my medical school doctoral hooding ceremony, but I am not attending university graduation where I would receive my diploma. I don't want to, and I need to be moved by then, regardless.

 

[dutchman]

Uh. Why would you not attend your own graduation?

Some good reasons that come to mind:

1) Still recovering from the scramble.
2) Never really liked medicine.
3) Pissed because you payed 200K for all that short-lived knowledge.
4) Only 1/3 of the way done.
5) Just don't like ceremonies.

 

[Mumpu]

Whatever... I'm as much of a cynic as the next guy but the med school graduation ceremony is a special occasion. There is something very special about being introduced as "John Smith" as you walk on stage and "Doctor John Smith" as you walk off the stage, cheering for your friends, and hearing your friends and family cheer for you. You have spent at least 20 years of your life in school and this is the culmination of your formal education. The Rockies and the beer are not going anywhere.

I'm very saddened to hear that you are so jaded that this has no meaning to you. I am also very worried about how much of you will be left after the hard work and the burnout of the intern year. Good luck, sounds like you'll need it.

 

[mig26x]

I went to my Med school graduation and it was a blast!! Wouldnt have missed it for the world.

 

[opthobound]

I took a yr off to do research, so I do not know anyone in this class. I have never been a fan of graduations and do not want to go to this one nor does anyone in my family.
So I made an agreement with myself NOT to go if I can sell my grad tickets for $100 each for a total of $500. What can I say... I am hustler...

 

[dpmd]

I took a yr off to do research, so I do not know anyone in this class. I have never been a fan of graduations and do not want to go to this one nor does anyone in my family.
So I made an agreement with myself NOT to go if I can sell my grad tickets for $100 each for a total of $500. What can I say... I am hustler...

Do many schools have restrictions on how many people can attend graduation? I think about 40-50 people from my family came to mine (what can I say, I'm hispanic, they live close, and this was a huge deal to them-first doctor in the family). Our graduation only includes the medschool and MD-PhD students, and the venue used to have the Grammys and Oscars so I guess they figure it would be pretty hard to exceed capacity.

I guess if you don't care about attending, and they give out tickets, it would be smart to sell them off (it would be nicer to just give them away to friends, but I am a fan of capitalism too) so that someone with a big family can include more guests.

 

[FutureOph123]

the title says it all

 

[lumbering]

Uh. Why would you not attend your own graduation?

1) $
2) Have to dress up
3) Lame sappy traditions
4) Boring
5) Can't really hang out with friends because they are too busy schmoozing with awe-struck family.
6) Awe-struck families are really annoying.
7) I save my family lots of $/time (half of whom secretly appreciate it).

 

[Mumpu]

Well, I'm obviously not here to convince anyone of anything but if nothing else do consider your presence to be an act of thanks to the faculty who perhaps taught you something, supported you, and rooted for you to succeed in your profession.

 

[Mayhem]

Dude, I'm just saying, that's all. No need to be sarcastic.

No, no, not you. I was mocking the guys who think they're making a statement because they skipped graduation. I had a friend who skipped his college graduation to make a point. No one cared. It's like 1000 students minus 1.

 

[sirus_virus]

Well, I'm obviously not here to convince anyone of anything but if nothing else do consider your presence to be an act of thanks to the faculty who perhaps taught you something, supported you, and rooted for you to succeed in your profession.

For the amount we pay in tuition, they should be the ones thanking us.

 

[Apollyon]

No, no, not you. I was mocking the guys who think they're making a statement because they skipped graduation. I had a friend who skipped his college graduation to make a point. No one cared. It's like 1000 students minus 1.

I hear you now. We're on the same page.

 

[Mayhem]

I hate to burst your bubble but I don't think most faculty give a rats ass about graduation. In fact, when I was a faculty member, there was an annual ritual in which the dean would pressure a group of us to go make a showing at graduation.

You have a point there. I can pretty much tell you which of our faculty will be at graduation each year: The Dean of Medicine, the Head of Pre-clin curriculum and the Head of Clin curriculum. And they only go because of their positions.

 

[8744]

Look, I'll grant you that the White Coat Ceremony is cringe-inducing stupidity of the highest order but the graduation ceremony is not. At that point you have actually accomplished something and there is no reason not to have a little ceremony commemorating it.

If you don't go I bet you're going to be sorry twenty years from now, that is unless you don't have any friends in your class and were a dedicated loner who just showed up every day and never really got to know anybody.

I am a cynical bastard, probably the most cynical on SDN, so if I tell you it's all right, it's all right and you should go to the ceremony, wear the traditional doctoral robe and hood, and have a good time. You may never see some of your classmates again.

 

[8744]

Some good reasons that come to mind:

1) Still recovering from the scramble.
2) Never really liked medicine.
3) Pissed because you payed 200K for all that short-lived knowledge.
4) Only 1/3 of the way done.
5) Just don't like ceremonies.

Actually, those are all pretty good reasons. I think having to be moved by a certain date is a good one too.

 

[8744]

1) $
2) Have to dress up
3) Lame sappy traditions
4) Boring
5) Can't really hang out with friends because they are too busy schmoozing with awe-struck family.
6) Awe-struck families are really annoying.
7) I save my family lots of $/time (half of whom secretly appreciate it).

1. A couple of hundred bucks?
2. Come on now. You'll be wearing a robe. You can be as casual as you like. I didn't wear a tie and nobody noticed.
3. Not every tradtion is lame or sappy. Many are. This one is not.
4. Can't argue with that. The speakers are boring.
5. I hope you plan on going to the pre-graduation reception or something like that the evening before. My wife and I had a great time.
6. Awe-struck families are annoying. No question about it. They think you're this fanastic doctor when you know very well that in a month you are going to be the dumbest person at your hospital.
7. Can't argue with that either. On the other hand, my mother flew from Greece just for graduation. Maybe your cousins and other distant relatives might not be interested by parents and spouses usually are.

 

[8744]

Didn't attend mine and have no regrets. Didn't attend college graduation either. While I understand that these kinds of ceremonies are meaningful and important to some, I could really care less. The point is that different people have different feelings about this. Why should the school dictate whether people attend? If it is important -- attend. If not, do something else. The school has no business deciding this for people.

I guarantee that your school will not withhold granting you your medical degree if you don't attend graduation. How about if you missed because you were too ill to attend. Would they make you repeat medical school or repeat the graduation the next year?

As if you will not get your degree because you didn't attend a ceremony. I say you should attend but if you don't want to, tell your registrar where to mail your diploma and that will be that.