I'm in a particular situation and was wondering if anyone had faced anything similar.
I have recently graduated and become licensed and was following up with professors who had agreed to write me letters of recommendation for jobs and getting nowhere. No response to multiple emails and phone calls from five different people in the department. So I decided to stop by there when I came on campus to pick up my diploma to see if I could catch someone in person.
I ran into one of the professors who had not responded to me and she told me to go to her office and that we needed to talk. She told me that the department had found our facebook group, that students had been saying disparaging things about professors and making death threats and "how would it look if I wrote you a glowing recommendation when the head sees all of them?" She said my behavior was unprofessional and implied this was why no one was responding to me. I have become persona non grata.
Except I never wrote anything disparaging or made any threats against anyone. I was completely blindsided by these accusations but I went back to check my activity on this group and found nothing questionable at all. Our department had a lot of problems communicating important information to students so we started this Facebook group to easily keep each other abreast of what was going on and share resources such as helpful videos that further explained course content.
There were a few students who had written less than professional comments and I know two of these students are employed in hospital jobs right now so they probably got letters before their comments were discovered. I wrote nothing unprofessional and I feel like I am being singled out because they can no longer hurt those other students.
I know I can't force anyone to recommend me, but I find it suspicious that professors who already gave their assent that they would are now ignoring me, especially since I was the valedictorian of the class. It feels like I have been put on an informal blacklist without any chance to defend myself.
I feel like without letters of recommendation my job prospects are severely limited and I'm not sure of what to do about this.
I had considered speaking with the head of the department (who I don't really know, but who sees me as a troublemaker because once when I had an issue with a professor who repeatedly misgraded my exams and refused to fix them, I asked Student Services how to handle it which was a huge no-no. Apparently the nursing department does not like anyone going outside the nursing department for help) but I feel like her response will be that she can't make anyone write me a letter. Which is true. If I bring up what that professor told me in confidence, I could be putting her job in jeopardy.
I can't really see a way forward and I really feel like all the time, effort and energy I spent on this program could have been better invested elsewhere.
That is why I no longer have a FB page! Guilty by association I do not like!!! I'll be darned if I get in trouble or blacklisted due to someone else's stupidity. And yes i kiss butt quite frequently to stay In their good graces!!!
And this is exactly why I do not participate in Facebook groups. At all. I have my own page which is private and no one but my friends can see. I am also not friends with anyone from my school, nor would I ever be friends with people from work. It causes too much trouble. I'm sorry but you are not "entitled" to a recommendation letter. That is a favor that your professor would do you. Welcome to the real world where life is not fair and you are judged by who you associate with. You should have removed yourself from the group the minute the remarks were made. The fact that you didn't makes it look like you are endorsing it. Also, I feel there is more to the story seeing as how this is not your first run in with a professor at the school. You mentioned having problems with another professor over grading? Yeah, there is a lot more to do with this. You yourself admit you didn't like the school and could at times have a bad attitude. So you want a glowing recommendation with a bad attitude? Yeah that's what every employer dreams of.
Maybe ask a non-nursing professor for letters? I got one from my science professor (had the same guy for A&P I and II, patho, AND pharm) and I got one from my world lit professor. A hard working student is a hard working student regardless of major.
Why was the FB group not a private one? Why was it created on FB at all? There are much more stealthy ways to communicate as a group. I agree with another poster, FB stalls another brilliant nursing career. At the very least future graduating classes can learn from your mistake.
You were a member of a facebook group that was manifesting such egregious behavior?
That's not exactly how it was. They're exaggerating. One girl, maybe two, wrote something like "they messed up my paperwork! This professor is the worst!" and few people even responded or asked something like, "what happened?" It's not like the group was devoted to making fun of people. It was mostly links to youtube videos showing different disorders or helpful study tips. Not exactly egregious. They can't point to anything I've actually done wrong which is why they're not formally doing anything. And I would have had no idea if that professor hadn't told me about this.
You should have removed yourself from the group the minute the remarks were made. The fact that you didn't makes it look like you are endorsing it. Also, I feel there is more to the story seeing as how this is not your first run in with a professor at the school. You mentioned having problems with another professor over grading? Yeah, there is a lot more to do with this. You yourself admit you didn't like the school and could at times have a bad attitude. So you want a glowing recommendation with a bad attitude? Yeah that's what every employer dreams of.
The worst remarks were actually made after our graduation when I wasn't frequenting the group as much (since I used it mostly for study help). There was a debacle regarding our paperwork being sent to the state so that we could be cleared to sit for the NCLEX and a few people were venting their frustration with the process and how difficult it was to get a straight answer about anything.
The former issue with the professor was that she deducted 10 points from two of my exams and when I approached her about the mistake she refused to listen and argued that it was impossible for someone to get a 92 so it must have been an 82, even when I showed her the math. It was her first semester so I understand making mistakes but it took me several tries to get this straightened out and it really should not have.
Finally, I just want to say that although I may have really disliked this program and how it was run, I am first and foremost a professional and in no way did I allow my dislike to color my work. If I didn't have anything nice to say, I said nothing at all and approached every situation with complete neutrality. I'm very annoyed by people being fake and I refuse to be this way, but I am always respectful. I guess it's not enough.
Why was the FB group not a private one? Why was it created on FB at all? There are much more stealthy ways to communicate as a group. I agree with another poster, FB stalls another brilliant nursing career. At the very least future graduating classes can learn from your mistake.
It was a private group. It was shown to the professors by one of the students in the group. We don't know who but this kind of backstabby behavior is par for the course at this school.
The group was created to share information and post resources and was used this way for two years until after we graduated and a few people vented their frustrations with the process of having our paperwork sent to the capital so that we could sit for the NCLEX. Probably people felt freer to discuss because we were done and the process ended up being a huge debacle (one example: our applications were delayed by 26 days for unknown reasons).
I am actually going to go back to the department this week and see if I can speak with anyone personally. Just thinking about it gives me so much anxiety. Wish me luck!
Specializes in Pediatrics, High-Risk L&D, Antepartum, L.
The OP wrote that it was private; a fellow cohort presented the inflammatory posts to the nursing faculty, this bringing the "cat outta the bag".
Then maybe get should have been more careful about the group overall. One large group...maybe a bad idea if there are things posted that really are derogatory.
Either way...this is really too bad. Nobody is owed a letter.
Good luck, OP. That must be very frustrating. I certainly hope that this can get resolved.
Thank you, klone.
Then maybe get should have been more careful about the group overall. One large group...maybe a bad idea if there are things posted that really are derogatory.
I think the mistake was inviting everyone to join the group but as it wasn't my group and I wasn't the administrator, it wasn't my call. I think it's rather sad that we had classmates that would throw you under the bus to make themselves look good. Why is it a competition? My A doesn't negate your A. Working together helps all of us. That was the spirit with which the group was founded.
I also want to add that nothing posted was factually incorrect. Some students had their paperwork messed up and they complained about it. It wasn't personal attacks or anything. I believe that this informal blacklisting is happening because I can't formally be censured due to complete lack of wrongdoing. This way, I have no avenue with which to defend myself.
CNASuzy
62 Posts
That is why I no longer have a FB page! Guilty by association I do not like!!! I'll be darned if I get in trouble or blacklisted due to someone else's stupidity. And yes i kiss butt quite frequently to stay In their good graces!!!