Student caught stealing....

Published

Would you press criminal charges if one of your students took money from your wallet? The student has been expelled from the program but has not returned the money If I press charges theres a chance I could get my money back and hopefully she would be prevented from applying to another nursing school... Just looking for opinions. Thanks!

Specializes in Peds, School Nurse, clinical instructor.

Press charges, she deserves everything she gets from being kicked out of the program to having a criminal record. If she stole from you twice, I would bet on the fact you are not her first victim. She does not deserve to be a Nurse. Forgive sure, forget, nope........Once a thief, always a thief

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Specializes in Telemetry, EKG interpretation, ICU/CCU.
But it sounds so funny! "please do not make assumptions about my modicums." That's great stuff!

thanks! people need to lighten up!

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Specializes in CCU, SICU, CVSICU, Precepting & Teaching.

there is an underlying message here that insinuates that a nurse, because they are a nurse, has an obligation to accept as a sign of their selfless compassion all manner of behavior that any other person wouldn't think twice about whether or not to pursue legal remedy. anything that smacks of that just demoralizes us further than we already are about the expectation of martyrdom coming from our own ranks and the public at large, apparently. i think we should call it out when we see it, because it is still so ingrained in our psyche that we can't see it when it is occuring.

i was one of those who advocated getting the whole story before pressing charges -- but i retract that suggestion. the girl confessed. that is the whole story.

there seems to be an underlying message on allnurses in general insinuating that nurses, because they are nurses, have an obligation to accept as a sign of their selfless compassion all manner of behaviors. not to accept abuses of all kinds seems to imply that we (gasp!) lack the basic compassion that all nurses should have. because we are nurses, we're expected to have all that compassion above and beyond what is expected of the rest of society, as evidenced by comments like "i can't believe you're all nurses, when you have no compassion."

"compassion", as it is used on this forum, is getting to be a dirty word as far as i'm concerned. perhaps i shouldn't, but as soon as i see that word used in a sentence such as "why don't nurses have more compassion?" i immediately figure the poster is clueless. all too often, that turns out to be the case.

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it's kinda like that word "empowerment".

that word makes me stabby!

i hear ya on that.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.
Well, I don't think you should press charges. Her being kicked out of the program is enough. Even if you do press charges, she WON'T pay you back. If she had to steal the money in the first place, then you could easily imply that she was going through some financial hardship. And I highly doubt that the student somehow became financially secure in a few days.

Pressing charges would cause more trouble than resolution. I can see if she stole from a patient or stole a very large amount of money or medicine.

I don't think the central issue in pursuing charges (AGAIN, not PRESSING charges, it is not up to the OP to do so!) is to be paid back. It's to see the thief be held responsible for their actions. Being kicked out of nursing school is a sidebar; if the thief had no nursing school to be kicked out of, then what should be the consequence? If it's law enforcement, then it still is, expulsion or not.

Why would it be worse if they stole from a patient, or a "larger" sum of money? Stealing is stealing, sorry. And getting away with the "smaller' infractions leads to bigger ones.

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it's kinda like that word "empowerment".

that word makes me stabby!

i hear ya on that.

"makes me stabby...." love it...:yeah::lol2::yeah::hhmth:

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i am a total animal lover and hearing that your dog was killed sickens me and causes my heart to twitch in sympathy. sorry for your loss; for everything, but overridingly so, for the loss of your dog.

yep, same here.

i currently have 4 dogs, and when i read ruby's dog was killed, i got an adrenaline rush that tempted me to do some, not very nice things.

i'm so sorry ruby, most of all, for the loss of your dog.

take my money, take anything...

but leave my dogs the hell alone.

there seems to be an underlying message on allnurses in general insinuating that nurses, because they are nurses, have an obligation to accept as a sign of their selfless compassion all manner of behaviors. not to accept abuses of all kinds seems to imply that we (gasp!) lack the basic compassion that all nurses should have. because we are nurses, we're expected to have all that compassion above and beyond what is expected of the rest of society, as evidenced by comments like "i can't believe you're all nurses, when you have no compassion."

"compassion", as it is used on this forum, is getting to be a dirty word as far as i'm concerned. perhaps i shouldn't, but as soon as i see that word used in a sentence such as "why don't nurses have more compassion?" i immediately figure the poster is clueless. all too often, that turns out to be the case.

i've been saying this very thing for years.

i soooo resent being labeled as compassionate, merciful and any similar descriptors.

hate it.

and, it's just about as ridiculous as expecting all nurses to be robotic monoliths.

we're not.

me, i am a sassy, quick-tempered, no-nonsense, somewhat abrasive, mouthy witch...

and am very comfortable with it.

please don't try to make me into something i'm not and never will be.

thank you.:p

leslie

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
I guess what you think is resentment, I see as justice. What I would resent is a thief and a liar getting off scott-free.

I also see it as helping the person who clearly needs a wakeup call. Maybe by pressing charges over something that will most likely be dropped by the DA, this person will be shaken up enough that she won't move onto bigger and better things and land herself in prison.

I like to think of it as "tough love."

If my adult child was drinking and driving and got pulled over by the cops, I would be inclined to let them stew in a jail cell for a day or two before bailing them out. Not out of anger or revenge or resentment, but to help them really internalize the seriousness of what they've done. I look at pressing charges against this student as kind of the same thing.

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.
actually, it's part joke. but it means a small quantity of something. so it means what i think it means. please don't change the subject.

Are you sure it's not "modica" in the context in which you used it? ;)

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I like to think of it as "tough love."

If my adult child was drinking and driving and got pulled over by the cops, I would be inclined to let them stew in a jail cell for a day or two before bailing them out. Not out of anger or revenge or resentment, but to help them really internalize the seriousness of what they've done. I look at pressing charges against this student as kind of the same thing.

i agree, and have done the exact thing w/my 20yo son.

my kids know that i believe in LIFE as a teacher, and its very real consequences (and rewards.)

Are you sure it's not "modica" in the context in which you used it?

c'mon klone, can we let this go?

although inadvertent, i feel this 'focus' could be a bit humiliating.

leslie

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Specializes in Nurse Leader specializing in Labor & Delivery.

I was just funning with Louise! She was joking, I was joking.

I added a winky smily guy so that it's more clear.

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I was just funning with Louise! She was joking, I was joking.

oops...sorry about that, chief.:chair:

leslie

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