An issue of conflicting rights: nursing student charged with drug trafficking

One semester before graduation, a nursing student was charged with a class A felony for drug trafficking. The nurse administrator recommended to university administration that the student be suspended from all clinical activity until charges were resolved. Initially, a summary action was issued by university administration to support this recommendation. A summary disciplinary action allows for temporary suspension of a student charged with misconduct when the student's presence threatens harm to the student or any other person. However, after legal review, the summary action was rescinded based on the complexity of conflicting interests and rights that required consideration and protection. The law provides some guidance but lacks the specificity to move an issue like this from equivocal to unequivocal in a short time frame. Consequently, the student was allowed to complete the program. Shortly after commencement, the graduate was convicted. In retrospect, it was found that ample case law exists allowing for a more aggressive defense of a summary action then had been taken. As pointed out in Krasnow v. Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1976), standards of student conduct established by a university may prohibit action that interferes with the mission or functions of the institution, and these standards may go beyond standards established by criminal law and may require greater ethical or moral behavior. Being prepared for situations such as the one presented here requires that schools have in place clearly defined policies and procedures that assure due process, allow for disciplinary action, reduce time and energy required to resolve conflicts, and assure consistent and fair outcomes.