Favouritism in nursing school!

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I just had my nurse pinning and it was an amazing experience but I also left feeling a little bit upset. They gave out awards and some if the awards for clinical excellence. A good bit of the students did not demonstrate this in my opinion. They picked all the students who did the LPN program and then finished with the RN for one thing. Of course those students are going to have extra time with the instructors. Then the picked one girl who complained every chance she got and talked so much crap about every instructor. I had to intentionally distance myself from this person she had mouthed our program so much. One guy almost failed clinical which isn't even easy to do in my program because basically everyone gets As and Be in clinical. One girl who openly admitted she refuses to do CNA work to the instructors got picked. Another girl who said she hates bed side nursing and went through the same oncology immersion as me and said she wanted to cry everyday because it was so hard. It upsets me because I always tried to keep a positive attitude. I had multiple nurses go up to my instructors and speak about how well I did. I hadn't gotten any deficiency points in clinical since level one in clinical. I had an incident that I won't go into details about but that nurse personally write my instructors emails about me. And I was upset because I did so well in clinicals moreso than the students who were chosen and didn't get picked. It made me angry that every person who did the LPN got picked. Not to mention there were a few other students who were exceptional in clinical who ddint get picked. It actually has stuck with me and I am thinking about writing a letter to the new dean of nursing. They also picked some students who had failed and then came back. Of course the instructors are going to know them better they had an extra year to get to know them. My school also lets students who failed a semester who retake a course into the honor society. I just think the whole structure in u fair. Not to mention my school uses the same exam questions and the students with friends or siblings who went through the program previously all cheated their assed off. They only change a few questions every semester. And I watched them get awards I don't think they earned.

I had a health issue that I never complained about or tried to get attention for, my husband had a gambling addiction, I have three children... and got through it with no failing and exceptional clinical abilities. I'm just mad it was a popularity contest instead of a recognition of clinical ability. I didn't have time to linger around the instructors offices all the time I had to get home to my son.

I can't help but feel negative emotions even though it doesn't matter anymore because we graduated anymore. Should I write the dean an annamous letter?

Thank you :)

Specializes in NICU, ICU, PICU, Academia.

This is not junior high. Grow up and move on. You will experience lots of unfairness in life.

Specializes in Med-Surg.

I wouldn't write a letter. Its over, nothing will come from it and even if you are anonymous I would worry about them figuring out who it is. I wouldn't be surprised if they were able to narrow it down to who it may be and you may need references from your instructors if you decide to further your education. There may be things that you don't know about that got them picked. How do you know their nurses weren't writing them glowing reviews as well? Take a deep breath and let it go.

caliotter3

38,333 Posts

Have you passed the licensing exam? Have you obtained your first job? How is your family doing? There really are more important matters to tend to than favoritism over awards. Perhaps your program has exceptionally inept staff working there and that is the reason they "picked" the wrong students. They can also pick the wrong students to graduate. In that case, can you do anything about it? No, not likely. As said before, move on.

Emergent, RN

4,242 Posts

Specializes in ER.

You graduated. Nursing school will soon be a memory and not matter. Go prove yourself in the workplace where there will also be favoritism.

Also, I advise you to ingratiate yourself a bit to your bosses. This is a lesson I was slow to learn. Probably your classmates were smart enough to do that with the teachers. Take heed!

Specializes in Neuro.

I read this & thought to myself how old is this person? Look, who cares, some undeserving got an award & you didn't. All you should care about is you passed school & are/will be a nurse. You are going to see lots of people promoted on the job where you think really, and then go right ahead & do your job. Welcome to life.

FutureNurseInfo

1,093 Posts

Good things happen to those who wait.

Specializes in Critical Care.

Did you look at the reason these awards were given out? A lot of awards (at least in my school) are given to people who overcame hardships (failing out of the program and coming back/succeeding would certainly be an example of that) or who demonstrated clinical excellence or who fit into very specific categories (e.g., first person in their family to go to college, etc.) Perhaps you just didn't fit the criteria. It also seems like you have a sore loser attitude, ESPECIALLY because you want to write some anonymous diatribe to the dean of the college expressing your sour grapes, and you did have an issue in clinical that you haven't really given us much detail about... I'd focus on those things before bad-mouthing people who got awards. :whistling:

Specializes in Palliative, Onc, Med-Surg, Home Hospice.

No, you should definitely not write a letter, it'll come across as sour grapes. And I seriously doubt any hiring manager is going to ask you "So, diid you get an awards in your nursing school". In the grand scheme of things, what is most important is graduating from school and passing the boards. Worry about that. The worry about getting a job.

BTW: There are going to be times that your future co-workers are going to get awarded for something you might feel they don't deserve. You might want to be careful about saying anything or letting your feelings be known. It will only put a target on your back

springchick1, ADN, RN

1 Article; 1,769 Posts

You said, "In my opinion". Your opinion here isn't the one that matters. You will face this multiple times in your career. You should be proud that you graduated and focusing on studying for boards and finding a job. Don't worry about an award that you didn't get. There are bigger fish to fry.

saongiri

31 Posts

Would you have complained or written a letter to the dean if you gotten an award?

maxthecat

243 Posts

Lots of undeserving people get awards and promotions. Lots of deserving people don't get them. I agree it can be frustrating, but it is going to be this way the rest of your life, so I'd advise you to get used to it and move on. Raising a fuss about it won't change anything and will more than likely hurt only you.

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