Update on Advice Needed

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UPDATE ON 'ADVICE NEEDED"

I received a call today from the Chair of the Division. She stated "I was unable to resolve the situation". She claims that "..because I did not receive your letter of appeal until December 19th, I was unable to to meet with the nursing faculty with the nursing faculty until today (Jan 2). "......Problem is that my first appeal letter was received by her on December 7th. It was forwarded by my attorney. She responded with a letter demanding that the letter be written and signed by me pushing the process back until December 19th. I responded with a letter stating..."As previously discussed you in fact received a letter from my attorney on December 7th, 2006, who is my legal representative and , as such, had my permission to speak on my behalf. We cooperated with you; however, and sent another letter. You were aware of the appeal well before December 19th, 2006. It is unfortunate that nothing more could be done at this time.." I asked her to relay to me what was discussed about my evaluation. They are now claiming that I not only made a mistake regarding the PAC access but also now made a medication administration error I believe they are falsifying the document. I requested a copy of the evaluation document as I have not had the priveledge to see it, nor defend myself and it is a a part of my student record.

She has until tomorrow (January 3rd, 2007) to respond in writing and I reminded her of her deadline. Being that President Ford's death made today a Federal Holiday for the postal service I don't think she will make this deadline. Any suggestions on how to use her lack of timeliness against her? Any ideas of how to prepare against their falsification of my evaluation record? All suggestions are welcome. Thanks!

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Specializes in Ortho, Neuro, Detox, Tele.

Well, in case of lack of timeliness, did you have the first letter sent certified? Do you have PROOF that it was received by the date you say? Certainly I understand holidays, but because it was 12-19 (a full 6 days before xmas, and another 4 days between xmas and new years, you cannot be serious that she cannot do her administrative duties....

do you have the letter she sent you requesting the letter be signed/sent by you? Why would she need that anyway, if your first letter stated that your lawyer was acting in your interest? If she misses deadline, is possible that you can claim that this was agreed to, and she missed it, so therefore claims should be moot on their end.

In terms of falsification, the only option I can see is the fact that you have your story, the instructor has theirs, but it's very tough to defend that as you have no access to see that. However, if they never said that before when you did your eval, make sure to mention that in your sworn statement.

Just a thought....between all this going on, do YOU believe you will get a fair shake if you get back in? Or will you be labeled as the troublemaker student and be given a black mark right off the bat with clincals from heck, because of what you've done? something to consider....

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Specializes in Emergency.

Sorry, no advice about proving dates, lawyer stuff, or document falsification.

I agree with locolorenzo22 about considering whether or not you actually do want back in to THAT program. Have you considered bringing your case to the nursing director of another school, and asking them for permission to enter their program for your last semester? If you explain to them that even if your appeal does come through, you honestly do not feel attending this program would work maybe a director will considering giving you a spot in their school.

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Well, in case of lack of timeliness, did you have the first letter sent certified? Do you have PROOF that it was received by the date you say? Certainly I understand holidays, but because it was 12-19 (a full 6 days before xmas, and another 4 days between xmas and new years, you cannot be serious that she cannot do her administrative duties....

do you have the letter she sent you requesting the letter be signed/sent by you? Why would she need that anyway, if your first letter stated that your lawyer was acting in your interest? If she misses deadline, is possible that you can claim that this was agreed to, and she missed it, so therefore claims should be moot on their end.

In terms of falsification, the only option I can see is the fact that you have your story, the instructor has theirs, but it's very tough to defend that as you have no access to see that. However, if they never said that before when you did your eval, make sure to mention that in your sworn statement.

Just a thought....between all this going on, do YOU believe you will get a fair shake if you get back in? Or will you be labeled as the troublemaker student and be given a black mark right off the bat with clincals from heck, because of what you've done? something to consider....

I have proof it was received by December 7th, 2006, because she wrote a letter to my attorney stating the date she received it. The letter went on to demand that I write, and sign, the letter of appeal. She needed to ask for a letter from me (not my lawyer) because they are intent on intimidating and exhausting any student who stands up against them. I am hoping that claims on their end are moot if she does not meet her deadline. The instructor has her 'story' but the fact that I was never counselled and did not sign the 'evaluation' guaruntees that due process was not employed. And I will be sure, if this goes to court, this will be included in my sworn statement. One way that I am 'uping the ante' is that I am now going to request that they do away with their 'pass/fail' tradition the week before final. I also am demanding to have a copy of the evaluation as it is my right to view the allegations against me because it is a part of my academic record. I will also request, in writing, that I am protected from retaliation from the faculty. If I am not satisfied, then I will request that my entire semester (which I successfully completed until the last week of school) be fully reimbursed and the 'E' removed from my transcript which will alleviate the 2.6 GPA from my transcript and at least be able to finish my last 2 exams and get credit for third semester.

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Sorry, no advice about proving dates, lawyer stuff, or document falsification.

I agree with locolorenzo22 about considering whether or not you actually do want back in to THAT program. Have you considered bringing your case to the nursing director of another school, and asking them for permission to enter their program for your last semester? If you explain to them that even if your appeal does come through, you honestly do not feel attending this program would work maybe a director will considering giving you a spot in their school.

I have considered bringing my case to a director of another nursing program but, considering my GPA is now a 2.6, my first priority is to correct the GPA of a 2.6 so that I have a chance of getting in to another program. As it stands I have not 'Officially' passed 3rd semester and I got to the last week of school with a B, passed clinicals and I want credit for all of that hard work so that I don't repeat an entire semester that I should receive credit for. The idea of going back into that program is nauseating but I can suck it up (with provisions in place to protect me from retaliation) and just graduate as planned.

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Specializes in Med/Surg.

Good luck sweetie, I hope it all works out for you. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

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Thank you for your prayers...It is greatly appreciated and, being that is not an isolated incident, change needs to effected so that NOONE ever experiences all of their hard work eradicated....

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Your courage and intelligence are awsome. Good luck. My prayer is for you to win justice and fair treatment in this matter.

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I feel for you sweetie. I am still trying to get an appeal, but have not gone through the channels you have (no attorney). All I get is ignored. Obviously I am not wanted there. Even if they grant me an appeal and I win, I will probably be black listed. My advise, go to another program.

Please let me know how this turns out for you, for I am in a similiar situation!

All the best. I hope you beat those bastards!!!!!!!:smiley_ab

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I feel for you sweetie. I am still trying to get an appeal, but have not gone through the channels you have (no attorney). All I get is ignored. Obviously I am not wanted there. Even if they grant me an appeal and I win, I will probably be black listed. My advise, go to another program.

Please let me know how this turns out for you, for I am in a similiar situation!

All the best. I hope you beat those bastards!!!!!!!:smiley_ab

I'm sooooo sorry you are going through this as well. Is it the same type of situation? These nursing schools need to get with the current millenium and deal with the fact that you can't treat people as if they have no rights.

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Specializes in LDRP.

This whole situation sucks! I am rooting for you...hang in there, ok?

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Sorry to hear what you are going through. This is not what nrsg school is supposed to be but you can consider it to be a warning about what it can be like out there in the "real" world of work. When I was in school, there was an older lady (ethnic minority) who sued the school when she failed. We heard about her lawsuit, but until I left, no one ever saw her again, nor did we hear how her case went. In the course of events, I met a few nurses who had been booted from this BSN program (same clinical supvr, same tactics, and unprofessional behavior). The ones I met were fortunate enough to be able to pick up in a nearby ADN program and finish their RN. None of these people had comments that they had been treated in a fair and objective manner; yet they were able to finish school elsewhere. My point: As I have discussed with others about this problem, you are probably fighting a losing battle. I commend you for your courage and fighting spiriit. However, at some point, you need to look at salvaging your final goal: RN. Very shortly you will probably find that you spent money on an attorney that could have been spent on finding another program that would allow you to finish. I do not post this to discourage you, but to convey to you that every person that I met or heard about that was targeted for elimination from my program, was in fact eliminated. To me, the failings of the nrsg program are evident when these people prevailed elsewhere to become RN's. Unfortunately, today it is not so easy to find secondary programs. Best wishes to you. And I do hope that you become one of those few who do win your case.

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