nibor021 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I am a student and graduating in July 14. I have a unique situation where I was forced to take off a year with only 4 rotations left from graduation due to an academic suspension (not grade related). I am interested in venturing into a surgical field in the south. Has anyone encountered or know of a student that had a challenge with the hiring pocess due to a similar scenario. I have excellent letters of rec from preceptors but am concerned that my tainted past will haunt me. Ideas/suggestions/advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderator True Anomaly Posted February 6, 2014 Moderator Share Posted February 6, 2014 Advice would really depend on what exactly the academic suspension - that doesn't have anything to do with grades, apparently - is for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 My question is why would a potential employer, once you've graduated and passed PANCE, even know that you had been suspended unless you volunteered the information? Are you anticipating someone wanting to see your transcript? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KMD16 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 I agreed with both responses above. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator rev ronin Posted February 6, 2014 Administrator Share Posted February 6, 2014 If the school is wrong, fight the school. Be prepared for academic governance committees that are inertia-bound, to pay a lawyer a lot, and to get no apology even if you are successful. If the school is right, I suggest you take the time off and either hide or take a non-healthcare-related job, because anything you CAN put on your resume for that time period is going to screw up any hope you will have of it looking normal thereafter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Your resume will say: "PA School Such-and-such, graduated July 2014." Unless you give them a reason, no one will question that graduation date or think you might have been in school longer than normal. I'm so curious about what could be so bad to merit a full year suspension from a program, but not bad enough to merit a dismissal from the program. Just enough time for all your original classmates to have moved on... but what does the school expect you to do/experience/change in that year that makes it okay for you to continue? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LKPAC Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 It's very hard to help when we don't know what the suspension was for. Just tell us. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nibor021 Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 I attained a copy of an end of rotation exam questions that I had already taken. I was planning to use the questions to study for PANCE. (I know terrible idea) and the program discovered this and suspended me for intelectual property theft as our EORs were wirtten by our dept. This has subsequently changed. I guess my concern is when they see a letter of rec that is 18 months old. I have learned a lot about myself in the last year and have kept up with studying. I know when I fill out paper work and have to list that I have been scribing for the last year and not getting my hands on patients I may have some questions. Regardless, I will be honest to my potential employer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 This brings up a side question in my mind. How many provide actual LORs to potential employers as opposed to providing a list of references for recommendations that they can actually speak with? Is there a specific protocol for this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cinntsp Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 This brings up a side question in my mind. How many provide actual LORs to potential employers as opposed to providing a list of references for recommendations that they can actually speak with? Is there a specific protocol for this? An LOR for a job application seems weird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GetMeOuttaThisMess Posted February 8, 2014 Share Posted February 8, 2014 ^^^. That's what I had thought as well. Get it straight from the horse's mouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merseur Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Some employers will require a LOR from someone in the program. A friend and I both applied for a surgical position after graduation. The hospital at that time required a LOR since we were both new graduate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBanner Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 So you too have been squeezed by the iron fist of academia... I always thought when I was in school that it was more like a dictatorship than anything else. Yes, we all chose to be there, but once you are there you really have no choice but to do what they say no matter how unreasonable. They can squash you like a bug for a seemingly petty offense.....and there goes your future. It's scary. There was a group of 4 of us in PA school (all graduate assistants and the class president), who got nailed big time for a facebook-related incident. One of our class members insulted a professor on facebook, and via 3 or 4 degrees of separation it made it back to said professor and everyone who was even peripherally involved in the conversation got put on academic probation for the remainder of the program. We all had to put together an hour-long presentation on "professionalism" and present it to the entire faculty and PA program---several hundred people!! It was ludicrous, really. But there was nothing we could do other than bend over and take it if we wanted to graduate. Despite warnings and threats by the program director, none of us were ever asked about it by employers, and we all got jobs just fine. Anyways, I don't think this will affect your job prospects. To be honest, I wouldn't even bring it up unless you are directly asked. Do your time, finish the program, and if you are asked about your year off, just tell them the truth and say you had to undergo a strict remediation. Any reasonable employer would understand this was more of a technical legal issue than you being dishonest or a bad provider. Sometimes explicit honesty is not advisable in job interviews, but in this case I think you are fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febrifuge Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 You know what, I joined up with my PA class as the second-oldest student, and despite being older, more self-reliant, having been people's boss in the past, etc., I never had any problems accepting the fact that when you're in an intense academic program, you do not control your own destiny. It's like joining the military, or better yet like running away to join a cult for 2 years. I learned to deal with it. I don't want to make you angry, Dr. Banner -- I think we wouldn't like you when you're angry -- but my first, knee-jerk reaction is that however "ludicrous" your experience might have been to you, in a lot of ways you got lucky. Social media is only going to matter more and more over time, and professionalism is a real thing, and a relevant thing. If nothing else, people who are insufficiently circumspect to manage their privacy settings and use discretion in what they say and where they say it probably are, on some level, less likely to be completely amazing employees. Are they abnormally arrogant, thoughtless, or lazy? Nah, they're probably completely normal. Back to the OP, I think it's worth it to *consider* that employers may be smart enough (or paranoid enough) to ask the right questions, and you have no choice but to answer them honestly. So think ahead of time about the best way to answer them. If they never come, treat it as a gift from the universe. The worst thing you can do is to be defensive and confrontational about it. Just my opinion, don't go spreading it around or anything... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BruceBanner Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Lucky? Perhaps. They could have gave us the boot. Did it change our behavior? Yes and no. We just got really, REALLY careful. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winterallsummer Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 I completely agree that schools are ridiculous and faculty often immature. Certainly not all programs are like this. Ferbifuge you likely went to a program that was understanding and supportive, which I am glad for you. However not everyone is so lucky. Even programs with good reputations sometimes mistreat students and act absurdly. At the end of the day you have to take it but it's too bad. The faculty at some programs are supposed to be role models but often lack any interpersonal skills. Best of luck to the OP and I think in the end you will be just fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIPPER Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Who didn't obtain old test copies? Anyone who denies it is still covering.... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febrifuge Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Lucky? Perhaps. They could have gave us the boot. Did it change our behavior? Yes and no. We just got really, REALLY careful. I am just cynical enough to consider this a valuable lesson. I'm glad it worked out well for you all. That caution may just prevent some kind of disaster out in the practice world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Febrifuge Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 Who didn't obtain old test copies? Anyone who denies it is still covering....{raises hand} Old notes and study guides from previous classes? Totally. Copies of tests? No way. Are you working to get a grade on a test, or working to learn the information so you can do your job? PA school is not undergrad. Anybody who is obsessing about a score on a test is chasing the wrong goal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
taotaox1 Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 We shared almost everything with the class underneath us except for this one person's quizzes as there was concern (due to their high quality) we might be accused of giving them test answers. The class before us did the same and it was very helpful. no copies of test though..... Sent from my PC36100 using Tapatalk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greenmood Posted March 26, 2014 Share Posted March 26, 2014 I had to provide two letters of recommendation for the job I'm currently doing. I did get the sense that it was a formality, but I did have to comply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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