Schools shouldn't side with one side or the other. They side with the story that is fair after hearing both stories out. Like I've said, my school has dismissed several preceptors from that position b/c of complaints by students (overwork students/unreasonable workload, lack of supervision, unfair criticisms...). My school was large enough to be able to do that. Newer schools with association with pharmacists/rotation sites may not be able to do this (maybe OP attends that type of school)> And many preceptors are NOT faculty members; most of them are volunteers or clinical pharmacists at the rotation sites. The school will seek the student's previous preceptors and how they view him/her as a student/person. And I'm sure the school will then review the preceptor also. A school taking sides before hearing the entire story is ridiculously absurd.
I've worked in academic/student administration (before pharmacy school) and did a longitudinal rotation in it during pharmacy school. The deck is stacked against the student when it's "student vs. preceptor" or "student vs. faculty." You can protest to the contrary all you want, or say that's not fair, but it's the truth. It's the student who has everything to lose, and students need to conduct themselves accordingly.
In my experience, situations like this usually fit the axiom "where there's smoke, there's fire." If a preceptor or faculty member takes administrative action against a student, there is
something going on. The situation may or may not be as bad as one or both of them thinks, but it's unlikely that the student is totally innocent or completely perfect. Likewise, it's unlikely that the preceptor is evil, incompetent or out to get anyone. The truth in ANY situation lies somewhere in the middle.
Regardless of what others think, preceptors and faculty members don't sit around thinking of ways to "get" students. We don't have time. I've got a problem student in my class right now, and I'm sure she thinks I'm totally unreasonable and out to get her and that none of it is her fault (actually, I KNOW she thinks that, it was in her midterm evaluation) but the truth of the matter is that it's costing me way more time and stress to deal with it than to not deal with it. Bottom line. I wouldn't be going down this road if it were not absolutely necessary and ultimately, in the student's best interest.
To your 2nd point, your preceptor wasn't completely unreasonable if he/she admitted she didn't hold up her end of the bargain. I'm sure the OP wouldn't have these thoughts if all she had to do was do some "extra" work over a weekend. I'm sure she would have been fine with writing a 100 page essay on why she shouldn't print out papers lol. I'm sure the OP is in "shock" and "disbelief" for what she was failed for (judging from her story, I believe was completely unreasonable and out of line so I'm sure a lot of students would have felt the same way). And thank god she's using the internet (a good outlet) to demonstrate her disbelief. It's called a RANT.
Again, if the OP's story is entirely accurate, she should not worry one single bit.
I never said the preceptor was completely unreasonable. She admitted that she wasn't doing what she was supposed to do... but she didn't face any consequences for that. She completely changed the expectations of the rotation in week 4/5, but the school wouldn't get involved in that. It was up to her discretion to do so. So, to satisfy her, I put in 40 hours of work over a long weekend and missed out on celebrating the holiday with my family. It sucked, but I dealt with it. The school told me to "work it out" with her and that's what we agreed to.
Another difference between that situation and the OP's is that my preceptor changed her performance expectations for the rotation. I wasn't accused of violating any policies or doing anything against the rules. That's what I think you don't get in this situation. Performance deficiencies can be rectified, and preceptors can and should work those out with the student. But serious violations of academic or site policy really aren't remediable. The OP broke site or preceptor policy twice, despite a warning on the first violation. Could she have worked this out with the preceptor? Maybe, maybe not. Will the school back up the student? My money is on NO. Certainly, posting a public rant about it when she is easily identifiable won't help matters at all.