Academic Integrity

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hi so sophmore year I cheated and gave a student an answer during an exam and recieved a failing grade. I retook the class for an A and since the event I have learned a lot and it has taught me an important lesson. Are my nursing school chances over? Also, there are some schools that dont ask about academic misconducts, can they still just find out through my school. The IA does not appear on my transcript just the F in the class. I dont know what to do now I feel as though I have no chance anywhere.

Im trying for an accelerated bsn program

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Don't overthink. You are going to be fine.

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Thank you for the support. I've just been so stressed over this, I know the IA wont be on my transcript but in my academic records with my university I will have records of failing the class due to an academic violation. I just dont know whether I should give up my hopes on becoming a nurse and maybe a NP or CRNA. I know the nursingcas specifically asks about this and I dont know if this will make me DOA. I regret what I did in the past and i feel as though it is going to haunt me into unemployment

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If the nursing school's application asks about academic dishonesty, then it /might/ affect your chances of getting into the program, but it doesn't necessarily exclude you from getting in. If the application asks about it, there should be a section for you to explain the situation, I'd assume. You will just need to detail what happened, what you learned, and what you did moving forward to ensure you never did it again. It will help that you had 2 years after that with no further incident.

People make mistakes. A lot of programs just want to see that you acknowledge those mistakes and learned from them.

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Thank you for the advice, I will try and express how I have grown. It just sucks because my overall gpa is around a 3.8 and I have loads of volunteer hours and EC's ive been trying so hard to prove that I have changed however I feel as though this IA will bar me out of nursing school since they could credit my gpa along with other things to me cheating, if anyone has any advice other advice on this i would appreciate it tremendously. I dont know how competitve Accelerated BSN programs are and whether my shot is slim to none because of this.

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Honestly, just do your best with all other areas and move forward with confidence. This doesn't define you nor does it make you a bad candidate/future nurse, and while, yes, a program may not view the IA as a point in your favor, it's not something that will always immediately send you to the bottom of the pile. No one has a perfect application. We all have things that might not be viewed as amazing.

You can stick to programs that have an essay or interview component that allows you to address this in more detail. Show them that this mistake and how you handled it will actually make you a better nurse because you know how to own up to your mistakes and move forward in a positive way. That is a vital skill in nursing, where mistakes happen too frequently and fixing what led to any mistake can invaluable to patient safety in the future. Would you rather a nurse who makes a med error, immediately reports it, ensures patient safety, and helps determine what went wrong and how to prevent future mistakes like it or a nurse who makes a med error, is terrified of the consequences, and doesn't do anything, placing the patient in danger?

You made a mistake, you dealt with the consequences, and now you are more mature. Because of your IA, you are never going to do something like that again I'm sure, and you will make sure you do the right thing if you ever make an accidental mistake. The IA itself may not be a positive, but it did give you an opportunity to grow and become a better person. That's what you focus on in your interviews.

(And honestly, the competitiveness of an ABSN depends on the program.)

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It seems like you are really taking the high road, and have learned a great deal. Find a way to incorporate this into your essay for your application. It will both explain the F, and show that you are committed to a culture of safety and integrity before you even start school. From an admission standpoint, a student who has been caught cheating, and paid the price, will be far less likely to engage in academic dishonesty in the future.

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thank you guys for the help i was so close to switching to do something other than nursing because of this but it seems like i still have a chance for a ABSN program appreciate it guys

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One more thing, do you think this will severely impact my shot at CRNA school. I've always wanted to go into anesthesia and i Lnow it's competitive. Do you think this incident will make me DOA at CRNA I hope that by then this incident will be almost 5 years in the past.

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Specializes in New Grad 2020.

No way man. I wouldn't think so. By then you will have your RN, BSN and some time at the bedside (ICU or something like that) I'd think they will look at that and not think much about the other stuff.

Get into RN school, kill it without any "dings" get a job you will be fine

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Thank you so much for the advice i have been stressing so much I know the history of having cheated before is horrible but knowing that i still have a chance to make it to my goals is amazing

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should i mention if they ask for in the nursingCAS explanation for academic dishonesty about a class i took on academic ethics after my cheating violation? i'm trying to show everything i did and tried to change to take the higher road so they don't auto decline me :(

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