Weed and Nursing School! Help!!!

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Last year I was enrolled in a 2 year nursing program that I did very well at. I was top 3 of my class and never missed a day of school or clinicals. Unfortunately I was stupid enough to smoke weed every once in a while and I got drug tested and kicked out. I honestly don't need anyone to put me down, I've done that enough myself. The problem is that my transcript says noncompliance of school policies. I have applied for a school already and they seen this and asked me to write a paper about what it was about. I did lie because I was afraid to say that I smoked weed.I said that there was a personal conflict between a coworker and I concerning confidentiality (my town is small and everyone knows everyone). My question is, has anyone got in trouble for smoking weed and then got accepted to another school? Or any advice on how to get accepted?!?

NurseEmmy

271 Posts

I wouldn't lie. It is easy enough for them to call the other school and ask what the problem was. Instead be honest and write about what lesson you learned.

You asked to not be lectured, but you are still making bad choices. You need to get it together and start making responsible and well thought out choices or you'll never get through school.

Wuzzie

5,115 Posts

The problem is that my transcript says noncompliance of school policies. I have applied for a school already and they seen this and asked me to write a paper about what it was about. I did lie because I was afraid to say that I smoked weed.I said that there was a personal conflict between a coworker and I concerning confidentiality (my town is small and everyone knows everyone). Or any advice on how to get accepted?!?

Well the first things that come to mind are stop smoking weed and lying. No really I'm not kidding. Smoking weed shows a lack of respect for the law (doesn't matter if it's a stupid law) and lying about it shows an inability to take responsibility for one's behavior. Neither are going to get you far in life and certainly not in this situation. If you had come clean you might have been able to salvage it. Unfortunately this ship has sailed and you can be sure that if the school you lied to finds out you won't be accepted or you will be thrown out...again.

I guess I should have added that I don't smoke weed anymore. That was enough of a consequence. I am looking for help to improve my future, not ridicule.

Erythropoiesis

305 Posts

Okay, so, what happens when your prospective school simply picks up the phone and verifies your story with your past school?

You would have been much more safe to just tell the truth. Now you have to worry about being found out and denied entrance into the program for dishonesty. Nurses are held to a high standard. Smoking weed, lying to a school...these things demonstrate a severe lack in moral aptitude.

Even IF they let you in, you need to hope that they don't find out halfway through your program. I've heard of people being thrown out of school less than 3 months away from graduation because the school found out they lied about attending previous schools. Lying is NOT tolerated well at all.

Those are my thoughts. I hope everything checks out for you and you can move forward from this. None of us can predict how this will play out for you.

They are not allowed to verify it with the school. All they are allowed to know is what is on the transcript. That is why they asked me to write the paper on what happened. (Not that it matters, because I don't plan on trying to lie about it again)I don't even plan on applying to that school again but I do want to apply for other schools. I'm just trying to find out if anyone else has gotten kicked out of school for smoking weed but got accepted to another school after. Note: I quit smoking over a year ago. Should I just give up or should I apply and hope for the best?

Erythropoiesis

305 Posts

I have never been kicked out of school for smoking weed, or at all, so I'm no help here.

What I do suggest is that you follow the rules from now on and move on.

Wuzzie

5,115 Posts

I guess I should have added that I don't smoke weed anymore. That was enough of a consequence. I am looking for help to improve my future, not ridicule.

Look, you haven't been ridiculed. You asked a question that had two very obvious answers. Glad you learned your lesson about both of them. One of the big takeaways from this that WILL improve your future is, especially as a nurse, it's always best to take responsibility for your actions, mistakes and bad ideas. People are usually much more forgiving of someone who admits to their faults and bone-headed decisions because we ALL make them. Just look at the posts here. We will bend over backwards to help someone who admits they screwed up but if they continue to make excuses or shift blame then the poo-storm starts. That's not to say that generous doses of tough love aren't handed out and that, my friend, is what you are getting here. Here's the thing, if we didn't care we wouldn't respond. So, going forward, if you have to write another paper about why you were kicked out then be honest. Tell them what happened and then tell them what you learned, what you did to better yourself and how this experience will impact you positively as a person and a nurse. Oh, and another thing. Patient confidentiality is huge. There are sanctions and fines involved that hospitals have to pay. Saying that you violated it was probably worse than what you actually did.

Specializes in Thoracic Cardiovasc ICU Med-Surg.

Nurses are considered the most trustworthy profession for a reason. I am not sure what you thought was going to happen, knowingly doing drugs while in nursing school, and then, making matters worse, lying about it and trying to cover it up. Does not bode well for a stellar career.

You need to start by taking full responsibility for all of your actions, including the lying. Until you can be a responsible adult, I don't think you will be a responsible nurse.

Specializes in Cardicac Neuro Telemetry.
Last year I was enrolled in a 2 year nursing program that I did very well at. I was top 3 of my class and never missed a day of school or clinicals. Unfortunately I was stupid enough to smoke weed every once in a while and I got drug tested and kicked out. I honestly don't need anyone to put me down, I've done that enough myself. The problem is that my transcript says noncompliance of school policies. I have applied for a school already and they seen this and asked me to write a paper about what it was about. I did lie because I was afraid to say that I smoked weed.I said that there was a personal conflict between a coworker and I concerning confidentiality (my town is small and everyone knows everyone). My question is, has anyone got in trouble for smoking weed and then got accepted to another school? Or any advice on how to get accepted?!?

It sounds to me like you have no desire whatsoever to take responsibility for your actions. Do you really think this school is going to take your word for it and not contact your previous school? Telling a complete lie is not only wrong but it will do absolutely nothing to help you. You said so yourself. You live in a small town. If the school wants the truth, they'll get it. The honorable thing to do would have been to tell the truth and explain that you learned from your mistake and that it will not happen again. Your lack of ethics is appalling to me and it makes me wonder how that would transpire in your career. The means do not justify the ends. My advice is to do some soul searching, acknowledge your mistakes, and take responsibility for them before pursuing a career in a profession that is known for being trustworthy.

What infuriates me most in addition to your lying to the school is that by admitting you to their program, you would be taking the place of a potentially honest applicant who would be more than willing to follow the rules.

pmabraham, BSN, RN

2 Articles; 2,563 Posts

Specializes in Hospice, Palliative Care.
I guess I should have added that I don't smoke weed anymore. That was enough of a consequence. I am looking for help to improve my future, not ridicule.

Did you stop lying? This isn't about ridicule, it is about being an adult and being responsible for your actions which include telling the truth and owning up to it even when it hurts. Nurses continue to be among the most ethical of all professions; and you cannot be ethical if you believe it is ok to lie when it suits your needs.

tell the truth.. maybe you fell into the wrong crowd, was going thru something devastating at home, lost yourself as a person. We all make mistakes, that is what grows us into the unique people we are. Explain that to them.. you are not the first or last potential nurse to do something that was not so "morally right" while giving a chance. Just more sure you don't do the not so "morally right" thing by lying on your second chance! Good luck, the truth goes along way and its respected!

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