Cheating in the Classroom

irisheyesRsmilin · Nov 26, 2012

My two cents....If you dont have proof you have nothing....I would ignore this person and focus on your work. Like previous folks have posted, this is going to catch up to them eventually. Failing the boards will cook their goose.

gummi bear · Nov 26, 2012

Paying students to do her work is enough proof of cheating, in my opinion. Screw the test scores.

DizzyLizzyNurse · Nov 26, 2012

I would like to point out that just because the "cheater" in question cannot read or speak english well (sounds like she's from another country?) doesn't mean she isn't smart enough to earn 100's. One of my classmates in one of my pre-req classes is from Mexico, he came here a few years ago. He has a very, very thick accent, and when writing he often confuses his words when writing by hand (he's a business major, not nursing). For writing assignments, the teacher allows him to do his work on the computer so Microsoft Word can help him with his wording. He is also seeing a tutor to help him improve his english skills while in college. However, he has got to be the most intelligent person I've met yet. He is acing some of the highest level honors math classes in the college (in fact, he has tutored ME for my math class!), he is a psychology and sociology buff and can make your brain spin with the wealth of knowledge that he knows. But he just has a little trouble conveying it in english when speaking, and moreso when writing. But in his classes, he is a complete whiz kid.
Never judge a book by its cover. Just because she has a more difficult time conveying things in english, does not mean she isn't very intelligent when it comes to retaining and recalling information she learns in the classroom.

I'm thinking she meant that she has so much trouble with English it's weird she's doing so well on a test that is in English. Not that she wouldn't understand it in her own native language but it's suspicious to not be able to speak the language and still get 100's. If you went to Germany not speaking German well, you'd probably get a low grade on a test in German even if you could get 100% in English.

medic0681 · Nov 26, 2012

Or you could just spend more time studying yourself and not worry about others..just a thought

kansasredneckwomen · Nov 26, 2012

As a nursing student myself, I do not worry about other classmate's grades. Yeah, it's nice when you do well to tell your friend or when you don't do well to share with others to see if the test stumped them also. However, if she is cheating it will hurt her in the end. Hopefully, the instructors are not involved. Maybe they are as stumped as you are but cannot pursue her with only allegations. However, even if they do pass her (which would mean lying on their clinical evaluations of her) she more than likely will not get far in the medical world. Hospitals, doctors, etc. would not want to be held accountable for her mistakes and lack of understanding. It will cost them not only large amounts of money but also reputation. It is my experience working as an aide and a medical assistant that they do not last long in a job and eventially become flagged on the state board of nursing and cannot find work as a nurse. Just push through with your studies to control your own destiny. Best of luck!

NightNerd, MSN, RN · Nov 26, 2012

I'm in the let-it-go camp, and I'm also confused why you want to know how she's doing it (if she's doing it), especially if you don't plan on replicating her methods.

Anyway, my one exception to letting it go if her cheating or dishonesty interferes with any projects you have to work on together. It sounds like it already has, but from your OP it sounds like you've waited and watched her for a while. If it comes up again and you are directly involved, then by all means do whatever your school asks you to in this situation. Otherwise, I don't see that you gain much by thinking about it at ALL anymore.

juswannabenurse · Nov 27, 2012

I'm just wandering why do you care so much? In the long run the cheater will suffer? Maybe you are looking for someone to give you a link to test banks or a way you could cheat! School is tough who has time to focus this much attention on another student! You are paying so much attention to her in class and clinical do you have time for your own work?

x_factor · Nov 27, 2012

Maybe you are looking for someone to give you a link to test banks or a way you could cheat!

I find this uncalled for. Accusing the OP of something this harsh is crossing the line, in my opinion.

juswannabenurse · Nov 27, 2012

We all have our opinions! Just like she has such a harsh opinion of her classmate! Isn't that what this site is for to give your opinions? No pun intended I just said what I got from her post! It's really not that serious! But I do apologize if I offended anyone!

kgh31386, BSN, MSN, RN · Nov 27, 2012

lol wondering how someone is doing something...kinda leads you to believe they'd like to do the same. Yeah don't judge someone based on their speaking ability(racist). And all you have is another he said she said when you talk about the paying other students to do their homework stuff. Rumors explode quickly, especially amongst a group of primarily females(just saying).

MedChica · Nov 27, 2012

This is a howdunit more than a whodunit.
There is a student in my nursing class who is getting 100% on almost all her med surg exams. I'm pretty sure she's cheating, but I don't know how. And I was wondering if anyone who's been through the rigors of nursing school can help me figure it out. Just for my own edification.
This student reads, writes, and speaks English horribly. I mean horribly. We had this one project on which she completely wrote the wrong things for every section. She could barely copy the English words correctly on her paper, let alone understand what they mean. In clinicals, she can't really follow directions well. She doesn't understand fully what's being said. Yet, on these really hard med surg tests where even the best students in the class who are US native speakers can't get a perfect score, she's getting a 100%. Perfect, more than once.
I believe people can get lucky or be lucky guessers. But the probability is pretty crazy for every single time. Thing is the teacher always collects the exam and the scantron after every test. No class gets to keep either. And no one knows if they got the answers right until later and then no one gets to keep the scantron.
I don't know how she's cheating, but I'm pretty sure she has to be. I caught her cheating on a pharm test. Another student was circling the answers on the test for her and then handing the test back. But I have no idea how she's doing 100% on these med surg tests.
It scares me because her performance in clinicals are alarming. I know she bribes other students to do her work, even if it's a simple project. Any smartie out there who knows how she might be pulling this off?
A buddy of mine thinks she's got to the teacher somehow...
Thoughts?

LOL

"Another student was circling the answers on HER test"?

Your eyes are all over her paper like a hawk....

That's not believable. What sort of nursing school do you attend where exams aren't re-written, clinical instructors allow dangerous students to practice and the eyes of students can roam all over the room during test-time?

It's not believable that someone could score 100% on every single exam and not raise an eyebrow, either. My NS actively looked for patterns of cheating. Bags to the front. Number 2 pencil only. Cell phones off and to the front. Clear your desk.

We were afraid to look elsewhere but the paper in front of us.

This entire post isn't believable. What are you really fishing for, OP...?

But...if this story is true and the girl really is that deficient...and has to pay people to do her work (and the instructors are too stupid to know the difference)?

NCLEX will weed her out.

Why?

Why do you think? OBVIOUSLY, SHE DOESN'T KNOW ANYTHING.

You, on the hand, just need to mind your own business and focus on your own studies. I mean, really... I can understand being annoyed (if this is even true), but you're giving this 'issue' entirely too much of your energy. If you devoted a tenth of that to your studies? You'd be making 100's, too.

Nrsasrus, ASN, RN · Nov 30, 2012

Is it possible that she is much smarter than you're giving her credit for? Sometimes it may seem that people who speak English as a second language are unintelligent because they struggle with communicating in English, this doesn't mean that they are dumb. Perhaps she is more comfortable with a written format. This is just an idea but honestly, I find this post fishy as well.