Cheaters in my med/surg class

[brandy1215]

I am absolutely convinced that there is a group of people in my med/surg class that is cheating on every test. It makes me mad because I study so hard. Should I voice my concerns to the instructor. I believe they have a test bank.

[emtb2rn, BSN, RN, EMT-B]

Snitches get stitches where I am from.

Nothing worse than a no good rat. Who cares what anyone does as long as it is victimless, mind your own business. Who cares if someone else takes a risk and gets away with it? This boils down to childish jealousy. You are jealous of those with the guille and cajones to take a chance and beat the system.

While the OP might be making much ado about nothing, your comments are astounding. Are you actually quoting that gangster bs about beating down "snitches". You appear to have a long way to go until you're grown up. Pretty sad.

Let's extrapolate that beat the system and take a chance attitude....

-> Beats the system in school

-> manages to pass the boards

-> takes a risk with a pt, let's say he/she doesn't waste time with that stupid apical check before giving dig.

-> uh oh, code blue.....

And oh yeah, what do you consider "victimless"? No harm, no foul???? The thought of someone with your attitude as an RN frankly scares me. Maybe I don't know you, but I know what you wrote.

[rn/writer, RN]

Snitches get stitches where I am from.

Nothing worse than a no good rat. Who cares what anyone does as long as it is victimless, mind your own business. Who cares if someone else takes a risk and gets away with it? This boils down to childish jealousy. You are jealous of those with the guille and cajones to take a chance and beat the system.

I don't know where some of you get your holier than thou attitude that nurses are some blessed saint that can never have real human flaws. A nurse is someone that gets paid to provide a skilled service.... as long as the employer and client are satisfied with the service then there is no problem! If these suspected "cheaters" get through school and pass the Nclex and satisfy their employer and client on the job then what right do you have to complain?

Focus on your own weaknesses.

Snitches get stitches? That kind of outlook allows a lot of bad stuff to go unchallenged in this world. Yeah, you should choose your battles carefully, but sometimes you're in the wrong if you don't blow the whistle. This kind of intimidating attitude and phraseology might pass for wisdom on the streets, but it should have no place in nursing school or in the working world afterward.

It may well be that the OP should focus more on her own studies than on the possible cheating of others. That depends on, among other things, how certain she is and what kind of proof she may have. But to label her a "no good rat," because she doesn't want cheaters to have an advantage over those who do it the right way? Wow. If she's a no good rat, what does that make the ones who are cheating? Oh wait, they are the ones we should admire and be jealous of for having the guile (same root word as guilt) and cojones (misplaced courage in this context) to "beat the system."

Not commenting on the OP's classmates, but in general, people who are willing to scam their way through school are not admirable. They have a glaring character defect that allows them to rationalize wrongdoing. It's true, you can't cheat your way through NCLEX, but folks can pass by the skin of their teeth who would have done far better if they hadn't taken illicit short cuts. And those bent values do not magically disappear once they enter the professional world.

To say that cheating is victimless is to misunderstand the fallout from a lack of integrity. Cheating may be popular, but it will never be right.

[Trilldayz,RN BSN]

Snitches get stitches where I am from.

Nothing worse than a no good rat. Who cares what anyone does as long as it is victimless, mind your own business. Who cares if someone else takes a risk and gets away with it? This boils down to childish jealousy. You are jealous of those with the guille and cajones to take a chance and beat the system.

I don't think the whole "being hard" act works in nursing school. It's not even that serious, man, calm down. You are kinda turning this into some Mafia skit or something...LOL. Now I might not believe in necessarily "tattling" for everything, but seriously dude, are you saying that you wouldn't be upset about having people cheat and make higher grades than you who actually put the work in???

Again, I don't always feel that squealing is necessary, but if I HAD proof, there is NO WAY that I would allow someone to get away with it and continue to get higher averages than all those people who decided to be ADULTS and study. And I will be damned if the weasles ended up getting caught because of my silence, and they make it even harder for the others to do well.

[Trilldayz,RN BSN]

"I find that people that engage in this kind of petty behavior (tattling, gossiping, backstabbing, wild speculation, and basically just being in other people's business) are usually of a certain gender. Members of this gender tend to go through their whole lives without knowing what it's like to be at risk of physical violence. The opposite gender, however, tends to learn at an early age that this petty behavior can lead to some serious consequences. Once you've been kicked in the head a few times you tend to gain a little perspective, as in, someone else cheating on a test is pretty small potatoes compared to having to spit your own teeth out of your face."-----

And as far as that gender stereotype goes, it's not even worth the brain cells to argue with those ridiculous statements....

And as far as the physical violence is concerned...the only people who will have to be worried about that is the people who actually cheated and got the rest of the class in trouble. Stressed and ****** nursing students are the WORST gangs to get jumped by, IMO.

[VM85]

Just for the record, many have said that if she doesn't have proof, to keep quiet. This could just be someone starting a rumor in spite. Does she really want to get caught up in that? Then it becomes a he said/she said and she may be labeled as being spitefull. But by all means if she has proof, than tell the instructor, but like others have said, do not tell anyone else that you told the instructor.

I wrote in a prior reply that If she did have proof or was 100% positive they were cheating then to talk to an instructor, anonymously(and not telling her friends or ANYONE) so it wouldnt cause a problem. No one needs any added drama while there in school- theres to much stuff that you NEED to focus on- and i agree if you dont have any proof&you do accuse an innocent person, then you are sending unknown consequences to that person- And as i said before- I would hope A) the nursing instructors would also be noticing this and 2) they would do an investigation before deciding anything ....I just wanted to clear the air!:wink2:

And a good point was made....students are not holy-er than thou...we are all human. But that is no excuse to cheat! :nono:This is not a mistake, which humans make. This is a decision to do something,PURPOSELY cuz they are either not getting the info or arent spending the time or are desperate. Whatever the reason, it is unacceptable!So your saying a serial killer should be allowed to be a nurse(or go thru school) because they made a mistake?No- its called THE NURSES CODE OF ETHICS- read it through! If you dont agree with it, then dont sign up to become a nursing student, because its something your supposed to abide by for your whole nursing career- not something your suppose to start to follow once you get your license

anyways to the original thread, obviously there are many different ways you could go with this, but at the end of the day, I think you should do what will allow you to sleep at night- and just focus on yourself and getting thru school!This will all seem like a bad dream! Keep up the good work, studying and doing things the hoest way will get you far if you put the work into it!

I think some people are making this into something its not or blowing it up(and away from the original problem)

[JMP2004]

In the Nursing Program I attended, they made if perfectly clear that if you were caught cheating you would be punished to the fullest, kicked out of the program and never be allowed back into their nursing program or even be allowed back into the college. They also warned us about buying papers online, when it came time for the research papers and projects we had to do. I am curious to know how is it even possible for them to cheat? My instructors said they changed the tests questions and answers semester. They would also give different test booklets to each row so no one could cheat off the peson beside them. No phones or PDAs were allowed, and they would ocasionally walk up and down they aisles, while we took are test.......Anyways, forget about them!!!! Focus on yourself. I know it is frustrating, because you work so hard and put so much time into studying. But in the end you will be the one to suceed, and deserve it. They will not suceed and don't deserve too. When it comes down to taking the NCLEX they will not be able to cheat and will not pass! And you will!!

[LVAD RN]

We had the same thing in one of our class, BUT five of us saw this one guy cheating said nothing to teacher at first but we told the girl who was the top of the class and she started writing the wrong answers and he failed that one exam. However, we decided to tell when others who were not my friend saw him. We had ABSOLUTE PROOF. If you have proof then tell, wait until you have proof.

[Angel0411]

From Fair-logic:

"Mr H-TOWN, with all due respect. Did you write victimless? Laughing out loud . Nurses are responsible for the treatment, safety, and recovery of acutely ill or injured people. What can we expect with these people who as you referred to as beating the system. We can expect future evidence of injuries to a patient possibly being one of your family members. We are not talking about beating a system or escaping bad karma, we are talking about people's lives. Answer me this MR. I FOUND A LOOP HOLE, You have a patient coding on other words, the pt is dying and you are so lucky to have the I beat the system RN, HOW IS SHE/HE PLANNING ON BEATING THE SYSTEM THIS TIME? I know how, she/he has cheat sheet on the back pocket. I have to say that I find you to be very ignorant."

To Fair-logic,

I'm sorry, but I fail to see a real, live victim here. Now in your imaginary scenario there was a victim, but I can make up imaginary scenarios that involve you as well. How about I go through all your tests from school and pick a question you got wrong because you lacked knowledge and then I'll make up a scenario that involves this lack of knowledge/incompetance and point to you as the person that killed my imaginary victim.

You sure do a whole lot of assuming. First you assume that I cheat when I never said that I did. Then you assume that just because I "allegedly" cheat that I would somehow be incompetant and a much worse nurse than everyone else. Then you assume that I, or someone who really does cheat, would let a coding patient die.......... this is silly.

Just because someone uses less than honorable means to keep up their GPA doesn't mean that they wouldn't still do better than you on a test without the help, and it doesn't mean they wouldn't be able to competantly perform their nursing duties. You see, those are assumptions that are based on your emotional reaction to my previous post.

___________

To Pro-tattlers,

I find that people that engage in this kind of petty behavior (tattling, gossiping, backstabbing, wild speculation, and basically just being in other people's business) are usually of a certain gender. Members of this gender tend to go through their whole lives without knowing what it's like to be at risk of physical violence. The opposite gender, however, tends to learn at an early age that this petty behavior can lead to some serious consequences. Once you've been kicked in the head a few times you tend to gain a little perspective, as in, someone else cheating on a test is pretty small potatoes compared to having to spit your own teeth out of your face.

Really, there is no victim here... If you are of the moral standing that your tests should be taken as honestly as possible then GREAT! Revel in your purity! But, this need for vengance against everyone that does not share your moral high-ground is ......well, petty. "But it's just not fair!" There is no fair in life! It's not fair that someone was born richer, and it's not fair that someone was born stronger, and it's not fair that someone was born smarter. Now get over it, live your life the way it makes you happiest, and mind your own business.

You got kicked in the head a few times..imagine that!

[california_girl08]

my post might be a little late but i just read this and i agree with lots of the posts here. if you have absolutely no proof that they are cheating, then you can't tell anyone because it may backfire on you.

three questions: can you seriously look yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you haven't cheated one way or another??? have you taken online classes before? how many in your entire nursing class years? because i'm pretty positive that you have at least once opened your book while taking that online test. or worse, your other online classmates took the test before you and copy pasted those questions for you.

sorry to sound so harsh but i know a lot of people taking online classes and skating through the whole nursing program. they may be getting A's and B's but i guarantee you, if you sit me side by side with those people and ask me questions from fundamentals to med surg, i bet you i can answer more questions than them. but im just talking about those online takers that i know. i know that people have different learning abilities too, and different life experiences that makes them excel in tests, just like what was said in the other post about classmates texting thru class and still get good grades.

on the other hand, what if these group of people are really smart? or they study their butts off but you just dont see them or they are just discreet about it? there could be a million different explanation to why they are doing good in medsurg. i hope you stop hating and just focus on your own problems. get a study buddy who can help you pass the tests. good luck!

[PinkAnther]

Snitches get stitches where I am from.

Nothing worse than a no good rat. Who cares what anyone does as long as it is victimless, mind your own business. Who cares if someone else takes a risk and gets away with it? This boils down to childish jealousy. You are jealous of those with the guille and cajones to take a chance and beat the system.

I don't know where some of you get your holier than thou attitude that nurses are some blessed saint that can never have real human flaws. A nurse is someone that gets paid to provide a skilled service.... as long as the employer and client are satisfied with the service then there is no problem! If these suspected "cheaters" get through school and pass the Nclex and satisfy their employer and client on the job then what right do you have to complain?

Focus on your own weaknesses.

I agree. Maybe not as vehemently... haha. These are my thoughts...

Them cheating isn't actually hurting you. You may feel that it's unjust for people who don't care to get better grades than you. But typically in nursing classes, clinical performance is considered in your grade, isn't it? Not to mention, you said you THINK they are cheating. If you knew they were, you'd have said you KNEW.

Also, I've always been one of the non-studiers. On the dean's list. That doesn't mean I was cheating. Certain things just click for certain people. Nursing isn't quite that easy for me, but I wish it was. Still certain aspects of it are. I can hear about it once and know what's going on. Or some people just know what to look over. I had classes with a girl who would study 6 hours for a test vs my 1 hour, and I'd do better. Everybody is different.

Andd how feasible is it really for a cheater to pass the NCLEX? Sure... it could be possible. But really, how likely? Most nursing students bust their asses throughout school and then make themselves crazy studying for the NCLEX just to pass. So if someone who has cheated through school can pass the NCLEX, it would seem they would have had to have learned after all.

Obviously it's up to you. You gotta do what feels right to do. But like H-town said, don't do it out of jealousy.

[Prettyladie]

in my class somebody knew a boy was cheating. he got a 100 on the test. he bragged about it all day. a girl who made a 85 or something went and told the teacher and the teacher was like why do you care. you passed get over it. in a way i agree with the teacher. mind your own business. its not going to help you if you do tell because they will more than likely find another way to cheat and most of the times the instructor wont even find out. just leave it alone and worry about yourself.

[GooeyRN, ADN, BSN, CNA, LPN, RN]

We had a handful of cheaters in the LPN program I graduated from. I did not say anything. Some of them ended up passing the NCLEX (they would have passed the tests w/o cheating, they just wanted a higher grade) and some did not ever pass the NCLEX. (those that needed to cheat to pass) It did upset me some, but I wasn't getting involved in any drama. I just wanted to graduate and pass the NCLEX. I feel things like that work themselves out in the end, like those that cheated to pass the course never passed the NCLEX. As for the others? eh, they passed the boards, so I guess they knew enough.