Cheating in an FNP program

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I attend maryville university and know several students who have cheated on our first patho test. The tests are online and people actually bragged how they all got together for the test. One had the book open, one had the study guide and another had Google ready to find answers. I feel like this is totally unfair for those of us that are working hard to honestly get through the program.

Would you say anything? Or stay out of it and hope it eventually catches up to them?

Specializes in HH, Peds, Rehab, Clinical.

Yes, they are SUPPOSED to be, but clearly are not. I agree. Un-proctored exams is inviting cheaters, unfortunately

No, these are suppose to be professional registered nurses, not to mention adults, that in essence should be trustworthy. Ridiculous that any of these people have the opportunity to attend NP school and are treating the learning experience like high school but then again, what did they get away with in high school. I also shudder to think what they may have gotten away with during patient care as well.
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Specializes in New Critical care NP, Critical care, Med-surg, LTC.

I always used to think that people get what they deserve in the end. But reality is sometimes they don't. Some of the students that have cheated in the past have gone right on to pass whatever licensing test, boards, etc. They are now "successful" individuals in whatever career they chose. Did the cheating affect their ability to practice their profession safely? I don't know. I know that had I cheated I would feel a lack of confidence throughout my career knowing that part of my success was based on an inability to do my own work. but, other people may not care, their means to an end is getting that degree however they get it. Is it right? No. But life's not fair, so I'd say do your best to ignore it and know that you are completing a degree with integrity.

There was a group in my nursing class that cheated on all the pharmacology tests. They were specified as open-book but needed to be done independently. They held "group gatherings" where all would go though the test together while one person did it and then the others had all the answers. Where are they now? All practicing nursing in various positions, with successful careers. In the end it didn't seem to affect them much, so it's not really worth your aggravation to worry about it.

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Specializes in ICU, Telemetry, Cardiac/Renal, Ortho,FNP.

Hmm...Maryville U...I'm jealous. There is NO WAY to cheat on my exams b/c I am being watched live as I take the test. I have to video the entire room before I am even allowed to start. Having said that I would say don't get involved in the drama would be my advice. I would not feel like it's my job to be the ethics police so I would just let it go. In the end if it's not a competitive situation then it doesn't affect you unless the grade curve works against you b/c you "earned" your "B" and they stole an "A". If that's the case then yes, you might want to say something. However, no curve then fagetaboutit and move on. Why? B/c you are paying the school to teach YOU something and if that's happening then great. You are getting what you paid for and it WILL show when you take the boards. There is no way to cheat there and you either know it or not. Some people will do open book and remember/learn everything and to me that's what THEY paid for...to be taught. I don't really care about exams b/c we can all cram and dump...in effect learning the study guide and knowing NOTHING else. I would say if YOU feel like you are being prepared to be an effective NP then you have more important things to work on then someone elses stupid behavior. It's a distraction--focus on YOU. There will ALWAYS be people like that in life even after practice and you can't change them and they are a waste of your time. Focus on getting what YOU paid for out of the program. The school in this case obviously tolerates it and as long as the pass rate is good for boards it may not make that big a difference to them anyway. You may be screaming in deaf ears. Proctored exams either by video or person is the norm so I think the schools knows and doesn't care...just lip service.

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Specializes in Family Practice, Mental Health.

There IS NO cheating on the Board exam.

You could be force fed the answers by the instructors themselves until you choke, however, when it comes time to take Boards, you either know your stuff, or you don't.

Judgement Day Cometh.......

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Specializes in Community, OB, Nursery.

I'm in a FNP program and it's a mixed bag of proctored, unproctored, closed-book/open book. I'm a rule-follower when it comes to stuff like this and my conscience would eat me up a la Poe's 'The Tell Tale Heart' if I used a book when I wasn't supposed to. Having said that, instructors know that there is very little that you will be completely unable to look up in the real-world setting. Providers carry their pocket prescribers, keep their textbooks on their shelves for reference, etc. However, I do agree that it's in all of our best interest to know the stuff as well as we can before we're practicing....makes us more efficient practitioners from the get-go. So if it's closed-book, people ought to be keeping their books closed!

Unless there is video evidence or something you really aren't going to be able to prove what you're saying. It's certainly fine to go to an academic counselor or dean with your concerns, but make sure you've read your the academic/honor code guidelines for your class, your program, and the university. Some program documents may be less specific because they assume you've already read and agreed to the university honor code by paying your tuition and enrolling in classes. Others may be far more strict than the university and take the position that if you know and don't report you're as guilty as the cheaters. Just make sure you have your ducks in a row before you go talk to anyone.

Tough situation. Best of luck and hang in there.

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Exactly! An unproctored online exam is the same as giving an open book exam.

Not always. I've had a few that you literally had 30 seconds to answer a question and omg they were hard questions. No doubt some of the hardest exams I've ever had.

I would discuss with the teachers/school about the cheating but I wouldn't throw anyone under the bus because you can't prove it and its just going to make you miserable.

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Specializes in Emergency, ICU.
Not always. I've had a few that you literally had 30 seconds to answer a question and omg they were hard questions. No doubt some of the hardest exams I've ever had.

You're right. Cheating would be very hard actually but the group working on it? Maybe.

Sent from my iPhone -- blame all errors on spellcheck

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You've received some sound advice here already, and my 2cents is much of the same- we'd all like to tell ourselves that "the cheaters will see judgement day come Boards." However, that's not always the case. I've known of students that cheated all through nursing school, passed the HESI, went on to pass the NCLEX and are now great nurses. I've known of others who did everything the right/honest way and failed both. Life's like that.

It sucks for those that are working hard to earn their grades, but I think others are right in that, without solid proof, all you can do is keep studying hard and learning for yourself. Maybe judgement day will come for the cheaters and maybe it won't, but at least you will have the satisfaction of knowing you completed your program with integrity. If you truly feel that their cheating is affecting your grade, talk to someone like a dean or counselor about the issue (remain anonymous). Situations like these can be tough and annoying.

Peace, love and light to you.

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You've received some sound advice here already, and my 2cents is much of the same- we'd all like to tell ourselves that "the cheaters will see judgement day come Boards." However, that's not always the case. I've known of students that cheated all through nursing school, passed the HESI, went on to pass the NCLEX and are now great nurses. I've known of others who did everything the right/honest way and failed both. Life's like that.

It sucks for those that are working hard to earn their grades, but I think others are right in that, without solid proof, all you can do is keep studying hard and learning for yourself. Maybe judgement day will come for the cheaters and maybe it won't, but at least you will have the satisfaction of knowing you completed your program with integrity. If you truly feel that their cheating is affecting your grade, talk to someone like a dean or counselor about the issue (remain anonymous). Situations like these can be tough and annoying.

Peace, love and light to you.

If they cheated all the way and passed the HESI and the NCLEX , then they were doing more than just cheating, they probably were just studying as hard but had a leg up because they didnt had to worry about what random stuff a professor would test on. At the end the real test of yor knowledge is the exit exam (HESI) and the board exam (nclex) there is no way of cheating on those 2. So they are deserving of a license as anyone else.

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Specializes in Critical Care.

I am a clinical instructor at the university I graduated from. I wouldn't name names, but would bring it up to the professor / instructor. There is a way they can see when / where people are logged in, and they can see patterns of questions being answered at the same time / close together in time. I only mention being a clinical instructor because during our orientation we were told they had noticed patterns and made students they were doubting retake the exam.

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You're right. Cheating would be very hard actually but the group working on it? Maybe.

Sent from my iPhone -- blame all errors on spellcheck

With a group it could definitely be doable and frankly I find that sick.

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Specializes in Ortho.

Report it if those resources weren't supposed be used.

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