Unfair Accusation

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And the student manual does state that a preceptor MUST (and must is actually in all caps and bold) notify students and the rotation coordinator if there are multiple "unsatisfactory" marks on the mid eval. This kind of tells me that you really can't just fail someone cause you please. It is a bit more serious than that. And to be honest the only thing I want is to have the school let me finish the rotation somewhere else. I've completed 160 hours so let me finish the remaining 80 hours rather than making me start from scratch. UNLESS you can prove there's been a MAJOR violation on my part or I've actually failed the course due to ACTUALLY FAILING the course.

I'm sure that if you print out this thread and show it to your school, they'll let you do just that. Good luck! :thumbup:

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I don't know where you've been working, but that's not permitted at most places. There was a surgical resident who was dismissed in his 5th or 6th year of residency for that very thing. It was on the national news and was widely discussed on this site at the time.

I saw that stuff all the time while on rotations right in front of the attending, and the attending didn't say a word.
 
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Hi Lazybug! I recommend that you follow through with thorough communication with your school. Handle everything through the appeals process and do it all by the book. As far as the unfairness of it, realize that this unfortunately is a part of life. For some people the unfairness is being born in a third world country with little hope of having a decent life or even maybe such luxuries as running water. This doesn't mean that what is happening to you isn't important....it is, and unfortunate, but it could be much much worse. Put this thing in perspective so you can deal with it. You will survive this situation and if you are smart will use it to become a better person. That is how I have dealt with really awful things that have happened to me in my life, which have been more numerous than I care to recount.

Determine for yourself that you will never act like this preceptor and will never allow yourself to be involved with anyone who functions like this. The truth is there are a lot of dysfunctional people in the world. There are a lot of people who get an ounce of power and they are out of control. Some of them are really certifiable. I personally have come across far too many of these types of people, and often they are in positions of power....it boggles the mind. Keep in mind also that there are a ton of people out there that are basically good people but who would never go against the tide or alter the status quo. These are the same kind of people that allowed their neighbors to be rounded up and shipped off to concentration camps by the hundreds of thousands in Germany. Also determine for yourself that you will treat those you encounter with compassion, becoming a better stronger person in spite of this person's attempts to break you down, this is the best revenge. Letting them have no effect on you and even propelling you to be a better person is how you turn this situation into a positive learning experience for yourself.

Standing up for yourself and saying something is unfair takes courage, you shouldn't be surprised that there are a large amount of people who want to blame it all on you. This is so much easier because otherwise there would have to be the admission that sometimes those in authority are just plain wrong...and to say otherwise...that those in authority are always right is an absurd statement since no one is ever always right. In pharmacy school alone I have come across some very abusive types. I am a nontraditional student who is 42 so I didn't just fall off the apple cart. I know messed up when I see it, and it doesn't matter how many letters you have behind your name. How you function and conduct yourself on a daily basis is more indicative of real human intelligence to me than if you can spout off facts like a walking encyclopedia.

Don't come here looking for sympathy, many on these boards have none. Don't argue with those who want to paint you in the worst possible light. You won't convince them. It is a waste of time. Discuss your problem with the posters who offer constructive advice without inferring that it is all your fault. Ignore all the others....to do otherwise is to be baited by them. Don't take the bait. Ignore them, skip over their comments, realize if you don't engage them they will disappear....it is hard to create an argument if no one argues back with you.

Good luck to you and I hope all goes well. Even if you have to do this rotation over realize you will still be graduating soon with a degree that will (with a little effort these days in this rough job market) give you a quality of life and security that billions in the world have no hope of achieving. Realize how lucky and fortunate you are in spite of your recent brush with bad luck.
 
OoOooh I hope you posted pics. :D

Not yet. I've been entering grades and flipping back and forth between some patient reviews and SDN. Not getting much done though. I'm already tired thinking about my long shift tomorrow, but thankful that it is my last PRN staffing shift before the new baby. I've also been plotting what I might have for lunch tomorrow. My techs like this local Mexican place that might win the "what to eat" sweepstakes for tomorrow. My techs are all kinds of awesome and take good care of me! :D
 
You are welcome! Remain calm, collected, resolute in your determination, and don't allow your own worries about the situation to rattle you. There is nothing more powerful than a calm collected person going in to defend themselves with integrity and honesty. Approaching the situation with modesty is the best approach...not because you want to manipulate or need to admit to wrongdoing when you did nothing wrong....but because it signifies maturity. Remaining calm in the face of whatever is said to you is one of the most powerful ways to handle any situation. I have been in similar (not exactly the same situation as yours but similar in nature) situations before and let me tell you when in a conference with the persecuting party and a supervisor I always came out looking better because while the other person threw accusations I remained calm and unruffled...it also allowed me to think better and trip them up with something they stated that was off or could be proven to be untrue. Going in to talk to your school in a calm and unemotional voice is a very good idea....if this does not come naturally to you ( it is a skill really) practice the discussion you intend to have out loud until you can do it without any anger, frustration, or emotion creeping into your voice. I say this because when a person becomes emotional they are easier to dismiss. It is not fair nor always correct but it is true. You want whoever is going to decide your fate to be able to compare your calm collected version of the story with your preceptor's version....and if there is any hint of extremism or unprofessional behavior that comes out of your preceptor you want that to be compared to a totally calm and collected student. If you are in there crying and with anger in your voice you are going to look like the crazy one versus the preceptor. Good luck again!!
 
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I don't know where you've been working, but that's not permitted at most places. There was a surgical resident who was dismissed in his 5th or 6th year of residency for that very thing. It was on the national news and was widely discussed on this site at the time.

Not a small number of nurses have been fired for doing this too.

My senior year roommate, who was a liberal arts major, had a friend who worked as an X-ray tech in a big city ER, and would call her up and tell her about the crazy things that came through there, mostly WRT sex toys in places where sex toys don't belong. :p I told her that her friend needed to, like, not do that. We didn't have HIPAA back then, but patient confidentiality certainly applied, and that's why I didn't tell her about individual patients at my job, and when I did rotations too.

And when I did rotations and we would do case presentations, more than once I saw write-ups (ETA: by other classmates) with the patient's full name on them. I made sure to use initials only, if that. This was in the days before readily accessible printouts.
 
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I saw that stuff all the time while on rotations right in front of the attending, and the attending didn't say a word.

There are situations where photographing patients, or parts of patients, is appropriate. Posting the pictures on Facebook, etc. is another story.
 
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it just all comes down to the fact that when someone does not like you they'll try to find or "pretend" to find something you've done wrong. Nobody cares who's doing what wrong under any other cicumstances

btdtwtt.
 
There are two types of people. Regular people...and asshats that want to be preceptors.

Preceptors only take students because they want someone around them that looks up to them and they get control over. I've seen and heard countless stories of preceptors who get off on this ****. Both as a student and then later as a practicing pharmacist who had to be around people acting as preceptors.

You don't get laid back, regular Joes as your preceptor...they exist, but they are rare...mostly because we don't want to waste our time with piddly, trifling **** like taking students.

With this in mind, of course you got effed over by an overzealous preceptor. Yeah, she just cost you like $30,000 in income if you only graduate 3 months late now. She probably got off on it.

Unless the student is dangerous and going to kill someone, just freaking pass them. In the real world, those types that can't d anything that matters usually get a pass and a kid that isn't acting like they are attending a ceremony in front of the Queen gets the hash penalties. Bull****, pretend professionalism trumps actual performance.

But that's academia. And the world of healthcare.

And that's why I work ALONE at night when physicians' offices are CLOSED. I just deal with regular folks and crackheads. Other people in the healthcare industry are typically insufferable and make you want to KYS when forced to consort with them in any way.
 
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There are two types of people. Regular people...and asshats that want to be preceptors.

Preceptors only take students because they want someone around them that looks up to them and they get control over. I've seen and heard countless stories of preceptors who get off on this ****. Both as a student and then later as a practicing pharmacist who had to be around people acting as preceptors.

You don't get laid back, regular Joes as your preceptor...they exist, but they are rare...mostly because we don't want to waste our time with piddly, trifling **** like taking students.

With this in mind, of course you got effed over by an overzealous preceptor. Yeah, she just cost you like $30,000 in income if you only graduate 3 months late now. She probably got off on it.

Unless the student is dangerous and going to kill someone, just freaking pass them. In the real world, those types that can't d anything that matters usually get a pass and a kid that isn't acting like they are attending a ceremony in front of the Queen gets the hash penalties. Bull****, pretend professionalism trumps actual performance.

But that's academia. And the world of healthcare.

And that's why I work ALONE at night when physicians' offices are CLOSED. I just deal with regular folks and crackheads. Other people in the healthcare industry are typically insufferable and make you want to KYS when forced to consort with them in any way.

Nah, I get to precept students one day a week (since they only come in one day a week). They come in the afternoon so once the clinical pharmacist and the director leave, I only keep them around for another hour before letting them leave.
 
Nah, I get to precept students one day a week (since they only come in one day a week). They come in the afternoon so once the clinical pharmacist and the director leave, I only keep them around for another hour before letting them leave.

YOU are a preceptor?! :wow:

:smuggrin:
 
:nono: In Texas, that's not supposed to happen. Is NY different?

Yeah, I think NY is different. I think they get Friday afternoons off from school for IPPEs so they just head to their sites after school on Friday and they're supposed to stay from like 2PM-10PM. Yeah, I'm not gonna keep an IPPE student around past 7PM on a Friday night. Monday-Thursday, sure.

On a few of my rotations I was at the site long after my preceptor was gone or even if they didn't come in that day. Last time I checked, there is no special paperwork or requirements to be a preceptor in NY. All you gotta do is contact a school and say hey I wanna be a preceptor, they come and ask you some questions, check out your site, and that's pretty much it.
 
I guess that makes sense, but seems pretty strict. I only interacted with my IPPE preceptor a handful of times during the semester, most of my time was spent doing the assigned project. Most of the over-site came from residents. Probably not uncommon from what I have heard from others.
 
OP, based on what you've said, I agree with you that the preceptor is being irrational by flunking you.

HOWEVER, reality is, during a rotation, your preceptor is like your military commander or the president. If you want to pass, you should do whatever you are asked to do (obviously within reason, asking you to handwrite profiles is annoying but not unreasonable, sexual harrassment or something would be unreasonable.)

I think you should appeal, and you should be confident in your appeal, BUT do not be aggressive. Do NOT bring up anything about the preceptor not liking you. Be very apologetic that you did not understand when the preceptor asked you not to print out huge files or bring them out of the pharmacy, that you didn't understand that printing out a regular MAR for use in the pharmacy was what she was talking about. (for future rotations, you might consider going above and beyond following a rule when you are scolded for it.)

You say you don't have anything to lose...you have a lot to lose, as you have not yet graduated from school. Fair or not, if you are forced to repeat a 4 week rotation, just do it (at a different location.)
 
OP, based on what you've said, I agree with you that the preceptor is being irrational by flunking you.

HOWEVER, reality is, during a rotation, your preceptor is like your military commander or the president. If you want to pass, you should do whatever you are asked to do (obviously within reason, asking you to handwrite profiles is annoying but not unreasonable, sexual harrassment or something would be unreasonable.)

I think you should appeal, and you should be confident in your appeal, BUT do not be aggressive. Do NOT bring up anything about the preceptor not liking you. Be very apologetic that you did not understand when the preceptor asked you not to print out huge files or bring them out of the pharmacy, that you didn't understand that printing out a regular MAR for use in the pharmacy was what she was talking about. (for future rotations, you might consider going above and beyond following a rule when you are scolded for it.)

You say you don't have anything to lose...you have a lot to lose, as you have not yet graduated from school. Fair or not, if you are forced to repeat a 4 week rotation, just do it (at a different location.)

Great advice! :thumbup:

This is what I meant about being contrite and humble. It's the only way to come out of this relatively unscathed. It is the rare school who will side with a student over one of their preceptors, especially if she is also their faculty member. And particularly if the alleged issue is privacy (not just HIPAA, privacy is more than HIPAA) related. Attacking the preceptor will get the student nowhere, and the school is certainly going to ask the preceptor's input about whatever resolution is proposed for this situation.

I had an issue with a preceptor in week 4 of a five week rotation. The preceptor even admitted that she was being a bit unreasonable and had not held up her end of the bargain with supervision and training, but the school still told me to work it out with her and finish the rotation. So I did. I had to work a ton of extra hours completing an extra project over a holiday weekend. Was I happy about it? No. Did it harm me? No. I sucked it up, did what I had to do and moved forward. There will be many times in your career where you have to compromise and maybe even do something you don't really want to do. It's best for the OP to learn that now and just get through this.
 
Great advice! :thumbup:

This is what I meant about being contrite and humble. It's the only way to come out of this relatively unscathed. It is the rare school who will side with a student over one of their preceptors, especially if she is also their faculty member. And particularly if the alleged issue is privacy (not just HIPAA, privacy is more than HIPAA) related. Attacking the preceptor will get the student nowhere, and the school is certainly going to ask the preceptor's input about whatever resolution is proposed for this situation.

I had an issue with a preceptor in week 4 of a five week rotation. The preceptor even admitted that she was being a bit unreasonable and had not held up her end of the bargain with supervision and training, but the school still told me to work it out with her and finish the rotation. So I did. I had to work a ton of extra hours completing an extra project over a holiday weekend. Was I happy about it? No. Did it harm me? No. I sucked it up, did what I had to do and moved forward. There will be many times in your career where you have to compromise and maybe even do something you don't really want to do. It's best for the OP to learn that now and just get through this.

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.

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. :laugh:

Again, if the OP's story is entirely accurate, she should not worry one single bit.
 
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HOWEVER, reality is, during a rotation, your preceptor is like your military commander or the president. If you want to pass, you should do whatever you are asked to do (obviously within reason, asking you to handwrite profiles is annoying but not unreasonable, sexual harrassment or something would be unreasonable.)

I think you should appeal, and you should be confident in your appeal, BUT do not be aggressive. Do NOT bring up anything about the preceptor not liking you. Be very apologetic that you did not understand when the preceptor asked you not to print out huge files or bring them out of the pharmacy, that you didn't understand that printing out a regular MAR for use in the pharmacy was what she was talking about. (for future rotations, you might consider going above and beyond following a rule when you are scolded for it.)

You say you don't have anything to lose...you have a lot to lose, as you have not yet graduated from school. Fair or not, if you are forced to repeat a 4 week rotation, just do it (at a different location.)

If you think preceptors are like military commanders or president, please have your school reassess their preceptors ASAP. :scared:

Your 2nd point is sound advice.

But if the OP's story is correct and OP still is forced to repeat the rotation, obviously OP should do that (but should go to the dean if OP has to).. But it tells a lot about that institution if OP was forced to repeat (if OP story checks out b/c preceptor was way out of line).
 
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. :laugh:

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.
 
I am a current pharmacy student in my last year. I am attending a 3 year program and the third year consists of rotations. The rotation I was currently doing involved a preceptor who for whatever reason did not like me and always treated me very differently than the two other students who shared my rotation. She seemed to always be trying to find a reason to be against me. This preceptor assigns tasks that requires all of the patient's information to be reviewed and analyzed. A couple of weeks back she noticed that I had a page printed out which had some of a patient's meds listed on it. She yelled at me despite having blacked out the patient info. Yesterday afternoon as I was sitting in front of the computer at the pharmacy working on another patient I had the med list printed out in front of me which of course I intended on dropping in the shredder after I was done. She came and sat by me and explained that since this is the second this has happened I must be dismissed from the rotation with a "no pass". I tried explaining to her that I never took the paper out of the pharmacy but she was set on the fact that I was recieving a "no pass" for the rotation. There is obviously no way for me to prove to anyone what happened yesterday and I just lost an entire 4 weeks of hard work just to have to repeat the entire rotation over, which is extremel y unfair and bothersome. Basically it seems that a preceptor can do anything they choose if they decide that they don't like you for whatever reason. Does anyone feel that this if fair?

Wow that sucks.

Thank god all my preceptors love me.

Although now I am at a nuclear pharmacy....EVERYTHING is extremely HEAVY....I make a huge mess all the time drawing doses!!! Things get radioactive all the time....

Yesterday I got my hands radioactive and I had to wash it for 3 hrs straight and it's still radioactive now. :rolleyes:

My hands hurt now from all the washing and scrubbing/drying.
 
Wow that sucks.

Thank god all my preceptors love me.

Although now I am at a nuclear pharmacy....EVERYTHING is extremely HEAVY....I make a huge mess all the time drawing doses!!! Things get radioactive all the time....

Yesterday I got my hands radioactive and I had to wash it for 3 hrs straight and it's still radioactive now. :rolleyes:

My hands hurt now from all the washing and scrubbing/drying.

If I had taken a rotation in nuclear pharmacy I'd probably have been red-flagged by the government. I'm probably already red-flagged since I took a course about biochemical terrorism.
 
Look, I only encourage students to scoff at and disregard "unreasonable" preceptors (like in this case-if OP story is true). And there are unreasonable preceptors (I dealt with one--like I said, I was criticized for the way I "talk" and was nearly failed at my midpoint eval) who should not be preceptors in the first place. My alma mater has dismissed certain pharmacists from being preceptors b/c of student complaints (obviously there has to be multiple).
.

A very important thing to learn in life it to be able to make anyone you need to like you LIKE YOU. It makes life much easier trust me. LOL...it's always easier to attract bees with honey....

If you always seem to have people "against" you then YOU most likely have the problem.

I been in school my entire life and I have never had an "unreasonable" professor or anyone that was out to "get" me.

If you know how to act NO ONE will be out to "get" you. :laugh:
 
If I had taken a rotation in nuclear pharmacy I'd probably have been red-flagged by the government. I'm probably already red-flagged since I took a course about biochemical terrorism.

Are you Indian or Middle Eastern?
 
OP prints something- fails

SHC spills radioactive material all the time-...

I am gonna get better!!!!

My preceptor is so nice. He told me he is gonna get me better soon.

It's hard to pick up those shields...they are so damn heavy!
 
A very important thing to learn in life it to be able to make anyone you need to like you LIKE YOU. It makes life much easier trust me. LOL...it's always easier to attract bees with honey....

If you always seem to have people "against" you then YOU most likely have the problem.

I been in school my entire life and I have never had an "unreasonable" professor or anyone that was out to "get" me.

If you know how to act NO ONE will be out to "get" you. :laugh:

Can I get an SHC translator?
 
Can I get an SHC translator?

Basically, there will always be people in your life in which it is to YOUR BEST interest that they like you versus dislike you. (Boss, preceptor, mother in law, someone you need a favor from, professor, police that caught you speeding, etc.)

If you are smart you will make them like you. It will make your life easier.:)
 
Basically, there will always be people in your life in which it is to YOUR BEST interest that they like you versus dislike you. (Boss, preceptor, mother in law, someone you need a favor from, professor, etc.)

If you are smart you will make them like you. It will make your life easier.:)

Ah, so you would advise against printing out PHI when your superior told you not to? ;)
 
Ah, so you would advise against printing out PHI when your superior told you not to? ;)

Yes, I would advise always listening to your preceptor, professor, and boss b/c YOU are the begger not the chooser.

If you are the chooser, then by all means do whatever the hell you want to, but if you are the begger, I would listen.

Hell, sucking up works like a charm. I got pull over by the cops for speeding. I could have

1) SUCK UP like crazy and be very sorry.

or

2) Act like a know it all and tell them I am superior etc...


But I picked 1) b/c that's how I get out of tickets. I don't think 2) will work very well. :laugh:

I just advise people to do things to make their lives easier. Be smart!
 
Indian men are really HOT....I didn't think so before but I do now.

ohyeah.gif
 
are you crazy....your tuition pays for liability insurance for each student...you better talk to your rotations coordinator and if they don't fix ****...go straight to the dean...if that **** doesnt get resolved go the president of the school who is charge of both undergrad and graduate....if that doesnt work, get a lawyer...start sending emails, dont do **** by phone or talking...that way you leave a paper trail and hold that person liable...i've heard of some preceptor that are straight ass holes....if she said dont print it and you printed it then it was kinda your fault....good luck....it chaps my ass to see those preceptors abuse their power...what they fail to realize is that one day that student will one day be higher than them on the totem pole and karma is a bitch....
 
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