cheating classmate

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I was really disappointed to learn today that one of my classmates, one who has some of the highest grades in class is cheating :banghead: Apparently numerous classmates have seen her come into exams with answers written on her hand, and small pieces of paper. Today they said she even left her cheat sheet on the desk:down:

In clinicals she was doing treatments we were not signed off on. At first she just said she did finger sticks and I thought maybe she did it without realizing, but then other students told me she'd done other things like eye drops and other treatments involving meds before we were checked off on meds.

I'm just really disappointed because I really like her and I really didn't suspect at all. English is her second language so I've always been so impressed that she is doing so well on exams, but now I find out it's not legit. I was surprised because she didn't pass our first ATI exam even though she has such good grades, but man, I really didn't suspect. I guess I'm just naive about stuff like that.

Do you think the instructors should be told? I don't personally want to tell her since I've not seen the cheating myself and I only know of the one fingerstick on our first clinical day, whereas some of the others have seen much more serious stuff.

Honestly, I don't care so much about the exams because the truth is she's not going to pass boards if she's not learning the material, but the fact that she'd do stuff she's not checked off on, makes me worry that she's may put pts in danger. I'm so disappointed and sort of blindsided by this, I don't know what the best thing to do is.

On a personally note I'm ****** because I am at the top of my class grades-wise and a single mom that's no easy feat. To know that I've been "chasing her" in terms of grades makes me so mad because it's not legit. Some of the students actually said she had the nerve to brag about her grade on the test where she left her cheat sheet behind :no:

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Specializes in Maternity.

that's really crappy that she chooses to cheat. i know i wouldn't want her to come near my family or i, for care.

since you don't have any real evidence, try to round up some of your classmates that have actually witnessed the cheating. collectively share your concerns with your instructor. she should not be providing any meds without proper justification from the instructor. that's dangerous.

also, did anyone grab that "cheat sheet"? if someone did, that would be an excellent way to open the conversation with the instructor.

best of luck to you (and the rest of us that receive care from these "top students" lol)

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OMG....Where do you go to school because it sounds like the same situation I had my first semester! We had a lady that knew English only as a second language, and we saw her have answers written on her hand for our Health Assessment quizzes. We also saw her look at another student's answers while they were in line to turn in their quiz and she changed her answers.

You have to be very very careful. We ended up getting in trouble because she went to our director and said we were being racist against her, even though we had an African American girl and 3 people from the Phillipines that we adored. (She was a white). So it did not make since why we were getting the cultural lesson. It made us look bad and we looked like we were being mean by accusing her. I did not have her in clinicals and she did not pass one class so she was not with us the next semester. It did not make since to us why she was getting such good grades and asking so many pointless questions in class.

So you should def. go to the director of nursing with the other students that have seen this, along with any proof you may have, and just bypass your instructors. We tried doing that and it got us in trouble.

Good luck!

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No matter how "legit" the things you have been told are.... right now, they boil down to gossip. The fact that quite a bit of time has gone by since that first clinical where you saw here doing things you were not checked off on, makes that one hard to report. I would keep my eyes and ears open and make sure to report anything I saw myself but I would stay clear of the class gossip about her.

On another note, try not to be mad about the energy that you have spent chasing after her. Realize that you have alot to be proud of and should only compare yourself to where you were 6 months ago. Congrats to you for getting this far the right way!!!

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Specializes in LTC, Cardiac Step-Down.

Since you haven't seen anything yourself, I'd recommend you stay out of it. Since you have seen nothing, you're not obligated to report anything.

Just keep your grades up and don't add to the stress of being a single mom in nursing school by worrying over something that's not your business anyway.

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shameful !! Know what? I would'nt even worry about her, because i'm a nurse tech, not even done with school yet, and whenever some nurses beg me to show them how to perform a skill on a patient something they should have known to do already, that can be a result of cheating their way out in nursing school . they don't even know how to use the vital signs machines, bed pan, etc such shameful, lazy professionals, don't worry about her, it will come back to haunt her in her career, another lazy nurse on the loose, its really frightening because those that cheat cannot perform well on the floor on their own. even the patient can tell when a nurse is no good and staff members gossip about them.

she will be caught soon trust me, don't be the one to report her, god will reveal her soon.

lazy nurses make the work harder for others.

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I have a similar situation in my nursing classes. There is one girl who cheats on EVERYTHING. It's so frustrating because we would all be stressing over an A&P or Microbio exam we just took and she would just admit it. "I didn't think it was bad at all...but then again I cheated." She's admitted it a few times like it's some sort of joke and a couple of profs have even commended her for having the highest grades on a couple of the exams and she just smiles and nudges her friends. A few of us have thought about talking to somebody about her, but we decided that she will get caught eventually and that it will be her fault when she's struggling in clinical and has no way to cheat her way out of it. I definitely understand that it's frusterating though to know that you are working a thousand times harder than somebody while they are relaxing and doing nothing for the same grades.

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OH my goodness... I'm sorry someone you were looking up to turned out to be fake. I have a feeling if she's been cheating for this long that she will ultimately be caught... if not in class then when she goes to take the NCLEX- caught cheating then there will be NO chance of her getting her license.

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Specializes in Trauma/Burn ICU, Neuro ICU.

Dear April&em,

Whatever she is doing or not doing does not diminish you or anything you have done.

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Specializes in CTICU.

Depends on your school's honor code/policy - at some schools, if you know or suspect cheating, it is your responsibility to report it.. or you're also disciplined.

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Specializes in NICU, Post-partum.

Yes, but YOU cannot report her for cheating b/c you never actually saw it.

No way would I turn anyone in b/c of the rumor mill.

I wouldn't even tell an instructor that such a rumor is going around...that can be very damaging to a student.

As far as doing things in clinicals that are not checked off on...let her know yourself...and for patient safety, if she does it again, you may have to let the instructor know.

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Specializes in Telemetry/Med-Surg.

The first thing I want to say is congrats for doing so well in school. You should be very proud. One thing I learned in school real quick is to go, do your work, and earn your grades. Try not to compare yourself to anyone or 'chase'. You earned your grades by your hard work. They are yours. If you compare, it will cause stress and in turn could cause your grades to go down because you are so worried about it! Keep up your hard work!!!! Also-never share your grades with anyone. If anyone asks you how you are doing, it's no ones business - whether you get an A, or an F. Just some friendly advice :) (Sorry a little off topic).

If it's gossip, keep it that way. Unless you see something do not get into it. If your friends or classmates saw it, they should bring it up. Just make sure there is evidence to back it up.

As for what is going on in clinicals. Part of a nurses job is to keep your PATIENTS SAFE. You are their advocate. If YOU SEE someone doing something out of their scope of practice, which includes nursing students not doing something they are yet qualified or trained to do - I think it should get reported. Especially med passing. I know when I was in school, the instructor had to be present when passing meds. This also bothers me because the Actual nurse who has that patient for the day is told what the students are doing - and if they are told a student is not passing meds - they are going to go and pass the meds. It sounds like a potential for double dosing to me. If this is going on and it is actually witnessed, it needs to be reported.

As for the cheating - I agree with everyone else. It'll come back to her. I know someone who did this in school and she failed out our last semester. She'll either fail out, eventually get caught, or maybe pass - but the chances are passing boards are slim if she has no idea what in the heck she is learning.

Just keep up your hard work and good luck in nursing school!

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