Not feeling it, right now!!

[goodforme]

Just a venting session here so if I offend anyone please except my apology. My story begins as a nursing student at a very reputable university. I had a son who was injured in Afghanistan, which resulted in me failing a class during my sophomore year. I retook the class once he was healed and passed with no problem. Then 2 day before I was to begin my first day of my junior term my youngest son died in a horrific automobile crash. I began my semester in a daze hoping that going to school would help bring some form of normality to my family as well as keep my mind busy. I told a few of my professors as well as my adviser what had happened and of course they were sympathetic expressing "if there is anything I can do let me know." Well, I chugged through the semester not really focusing to much of what was being said....and really struggling with pharmacology because I was unable to remember every drug on the page....but oddly enough was always on point during my clinical setting, and remembered every drug as needed.

Well winding down to the end of the semester, one of our last assignments was a 10 point case study, which was a homework assignment. Since case studies were always used as learning tools we were allowed to work on them together in other classes, which help us all because we got to discuss the case study and it bought different insights to the subject at hand. The professor for this particular class assignment which was pharmacology saw things very differently and involved the assistant dean accusing us all of plagerism to our shock and dismay. Our professor told us she assumed we knew to work on it individually and we told her we assumed it was okay to work on it in a group since we have done so previously. During all of this I was meeting with my adviser expressing my concern about my failing pharm. She instructed me to inform the assistant dean of what was going on in my life. I told her I would wait since she was in witch hunt mode.

Well the following week I went to meet with the assistant dean to explain what was going on in my life and she whips out a paper for me to sign admitting plagerism. I was told as well as my other classmates, " I met with the dean and she gave me 3 options...1) give you all zeros for the assignment, which we got. 2) fail the course, which we got. or 3) dismiss you from the program. I was told my situation was a bit different because of the death of my son and to make an appointment with her for me to discuss my options. After I left her office so consumed with emotions because I was dreading having to tell another person I realized she did not really care about my situation at all. Her main focus was to teach a lesson for something that was done so innocently it still makes my head swim. Well I made my appointment and went to see the assistant dean and she looked me square in the eye and says, " your failing because of the plagerism takes precedent over you failing because of your sons death...I have to dismiss you from the program." I was stunned and speechless. Everything I had been taught about nursing caring and compassion was so contraindicated with this person. Then to make it worst she literally tried to down play my clinical experience from school by saying well you have only 3 semesters of experience so I am not sure if that is enough to be excepted anywhere else. She also informed me that if you need to a letter from me I have no choice but to put into the letter about your plagerism, I once again explained to her there was no plagerism at hand here, but it fell on deaf ears. She had made up her mind and that was all that matters.Then she rushes me out of her office so she could go downstairs to a Christmas party. Needless to say I was flabbergasted and very shocked by this whole experience.

I have decided to take some time away from studies to regroup and refocus. I am not giving up on my dream to becoming a nurse despite of the lack of encouragement from of all people the assistant dean of nursing. I found out that the people who returned that were wrongfully accused have to pay an extra 3000, for the retake of pharm. and some other classes the assistant dean made up for them to take. I am still shaking my head in disbelief.

I for one have always believed that things happen for a reason. I cannot understand why these things are happening in my life right now, but I am not a quitter!

[Hygiene Queen]

Things may not be clear now, but the purpose of it all will make itself apparent soon enough.

I'm sorry about your son.

I would have died, myself.

Best wishes.

[mac léinn]

Let me first say how sorry I am that you have had such a tremendous loss in your life!!!

My Prayers go out to you and your family!!

You seem like such a strong person and I know you will persevere!!

I know plagerism is a serious offense but your situation does not even pass the common sense factor.

Were any other people in your class (not being accused of plagerism) asked if the professor stated that NO consulting with other students for this assignment??

The whole things seems a bit extreme for something so innocent!!

BEST OF LUCK TO YOU!!!

[KelRN215, BSN, RN]

Plagiarism is passing off someone else's work as your own. If you all did the work together, then the work is all of yours and there is no plagiarism involved. I have to ask how she figured this out, though, since it's pharmacology. Math typically has a right answer... is it plagiarism if all children in a first grade class say that 1 + 1 = 2? Of course not.

I also don't understand why you were dismissed from the program if others who were facing the same accusations were allowed back. Doesn't make sense. Unfortunately I don't know what your recourse is.

[goodforme]

Well, I was dismissed because of failing the 2 classes. One when my first son was injured and the second when my youngest son died. It seems that the rule out weighs the cause. The statement that you all have made were the same comments that I and my study group tried unsuccessfully to explain to our professor and our assistant dean.

[TC3200]

If the rest of the students were not dismissed for plagiarism, then you should be able to legally fight that as grounds for dismissal, I'd presume.

But what is the school's policy about failing / repeating courses? If the school allows you to only fail / repeat one course and you've now failed two, then I think you are sunk, at least at that school, because a policy is a policy. If the limit is 2 ro 3 vourses, then definitely fight it.

No, nursing instructors don't care about what's going on in your personal life. They also tend to not care about the careers of individual students. I personally encountered those attitudes in the RN school that I attended, and I'll admit that I found that very offensive to me. I think that's wrong. 'ell, if you are in the business of selling education, and RN schools are, then you need to at least give some lip service to the nurturing and care and concern for the success of their students, a.k.a. your customers. But no, they have to make RN school as hard as possible, and as brutally non-sympathetic as possible. Really, I think they'd produce even better RNs by doing more nurturing and mentoring and guiding of students, and less of the authoritarian "Take it or leave it, Honey!" Practice what they preach, in other words.

I also think that the nursing schools are quite biased in determining who they plan to keep or drum out of RN programs, because of their desire to keep the NCLEX pass rate % loooking good on paper.

[goodforme]

TC3200, thanks for your response. I actually got really good grades this final semester with the exception of the memorizing countless drugs, which was really hard to focus and not have my mind wander to what was going on in my life. What confused me was once I told her of the death she said to me your situation is different than most academic failures, so it does not fall into that category. I was intending on taking the time away from studies even before all of this occurred because it was becoming exceedingly harder to concentrate and focus on my studies. I will finish my education there is no doubt in my mind, and become the nurse I am meant to become. I was just shocked the outcome was so drastic and unnecessary.