Cheating in nursing school?

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Ok, this is the first time I have posted anything. I have been reading tons of stuff on here for about a year but I had to get some feedback on this one. Recently it was brought to our class' attention that there is cheating going on in our nursing program! I am totally shocked at this. I am a mother of four young children ages 5-9 (twins are 5) and I spend numerous hours away from kids to study and learn to be the best nurse that I can be and some idiots are skating by. :madface: I am in my second semester and supposedly there are students in my class as well as semesters 3 and 4 who are doing this. The students in my class (like me) who work their butts off and a little ticked off to say the least. :banghead: I was wondering if anybody else out there has dealt with this in nursing school? Oh yeah, the story is that if the people with the tests (don't ask how they got them!) come forward then they can stay in the program. The ones who are caught and don't come forward will be dropped with an "F" and their nursing careers are over. They are only cheating themselves but many of us are ticked off! Any thoughts? Sorry to rant on my first post! On a better note, I love this site!!:nuke:

Specializes in Psychiatry.
I'm probably going to be the only one to say this but if a student has to cheat to make it through nursing school then they shouldn't be a nurse. If you have to cheat it makes me think that you are not competent.

And heaven forbid, would you want that nurse taking care of your family member (or of you)?

Since they are dishonest now, it seems as though that would carry over into their careers.

If they gave a pt the wrong med, do you think they would tell anyone, let alone the pt?

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Specializes in Psychiatry.
I wouldn't worry about it. In the long run they're going to get caught one way or another, whether it be in school, at the NCLEX, or on the job.

Hopefully, they won't kill anyone in order to get caught.

So yeah, I DO worry about it. Would you want them taking care of you?

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Specializes in ER.

The only thing I can say here is that if there are cheaters in my program then they have to be more creative than I am. Their time wasted cheating is probably better spent studying the material. Whether its on the NCLEX or further down the road, the material must be learnt! I know well enough at 30 that you can avoid as long as possible but eventually it catches up with you.

As for me, my biggest issue is that practice of passing people along. Seems like a lot of folks end up with a B or a C for nothing. I bust my butt and end up with a B or an A but with minimal effort, other folks can attain the same if not a little worse.

It kind of act like a demotivator.

Finally, to answer directly, I know of no person or group of entities that is cheating.

Sorry you are upset about this.

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Specializes in EMS, ER, GI, PCU/Telemetry.

i had a group of cheaters in my class too. they were rediculous. i was ashamed to be on the same stage as them during our pinning because i just knew they didnt deserve it.

but you can only worry about yourself. nursing school is too hard to put your energy into being p'oed that some numnuts is cheating. i know i certainly would not want a nurse who cheated their way thru school.... but i spent the time, the effort, the heartache and the money in school and i just focused on my studies. i got the grades i earned and i will be the best nurse i can be.

if they're gonna cheat, they'll find a way to do it. if the professors are not going to throw them out, you can't push the issue.... i tried. i was told "it isn't your business". we had two students who said they could not afford calculators but they both had I-PHONE and would say oh its my calculator and would google the answers and text to each other the whole test. when they got caught they got a slap on the wrist and they both graduated with me.

they won't pass the NCLEX and if they do they will fail in their job as a nurse. i know it's wrong for them to even practice but honestly as long as you earned your grades and do the best you can as a nurse that's all that matters.....you can't make them be honest..... karma will get them.

i wish you the best.

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I did not know of any cheating in my program but I heard that was a lot of cheating in the accelerated program at my school. To the point that we could not bring anything in with us on test day. No drinks, coats, sweaters, hoodies, purses, bookbags. Just a pencil and a plain calculator. Some of the professors even came around and looked at the calculators each one of us had. We had to sit all spread apart and the test were counted in class and they were numbered too. I felt punished because of the cheaters. Man I remember one time I was so cold taking a test and all I could think of was how cold I was. I am suprised that I even passed it. One of my prof even told us that they were cracking down because of the cheating in the other program. I was angry because I quit work and isolated myself to study and other people spent their time trying to figure out ways to cheat.

I am finished with school but have graduation coming up and I will start to wonder how many of the other students really deserve to be there.

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wow...i'm somewhat appalled at the thought of nursing students cheating. i'm not a snitch or saying you should, but at the same time...it's not about the student passing or not...it's about patient safety. i'm not really sure what more to say about this except that these student who are cheating may pass and get through nursing school...but i really doubt they'll be passing the NCLEX. they should be taking advantage of the expensive education they're paying for rather than spending the extra time and money after failing the test that really matters. sorry you have these students in your program. keep up with what you're doing, because in the end it'll really help you with the NCLEX and your nursing career.

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Specializes in DOU.

I don't know if anyone else is cheating. I am too busy studying to notice.

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Specializes in Med/Surg, Tele, IM, OB/GYN, neuro, GI.
Hopefully, they won't kill anyone in order to get caught.

So yeah, I DO worry about it. Would you want them taking care of you?

Read what I wrote and noticed that too but since I don't have the upgraded memberships I can't edit posts.

If the cheater(s) get a job which could be hard considering most interviews give you case scenarios and ask what you would do. Plus most hospitals test you on all sorts of things (drugs, rhythms, interventions, etc.) before you hit the floor, and then the preceptorships. They can and will find out if they have "it" or not before it gets too far (at least at the facilities that I've worked).

Being devils advocate though maybe the only reason they're cheating is because they're barely passing. Not that it's right but I've know several nurses who were the C-- students and are some of the best nurses that I've ever seen. People learn and need to be tested different ways and sometimes schools aren't able/can't provide what they need.

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Unfortunately, cheating in nursing school is more common than most of us realize. Happened in my BSN class several years ago. NOTHING was done.

In my opinion, anyone caught cheating should be kicked out of the program immediately. If one will cheat on a test, they will cheat a patient of the care that is deserved.

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Specializes in Emergency.

Happened in my class too.

We saw this person cheating during tests off her friend (I have no idea to this day if the friend was aware). She would sit just to the right and behind this other person during tests, but so close that it was obvious. I was not the only one to notice this, and a group of us soon brought it to the attention of the instructors. Because they had not witnessed the previous cheating they could do nothing about it, but after we raised the alarm, they would assign us seats for tests (with the person seated well away from her friend), and with at least two chair lengths away from each other.

Needless to say, this person failed out.

It ticks me off that someone would even consider cheating in nursing school much less do it. As nurses we are supposed to be ethical and moral. If you do not have those traits to begin with then you should never consider nursing. I am personally glad she failed. She may not have gotten caught red-handed, but someone who cheats should never be a nurse (although it is sad that there are probably some nurses who did cheat their way through school...scary!).

If you know a student who is cheating, the best thing is to bring your concerns to the instructors. They may not be able to prove it without a doubt, but they can make it hard for them to do it in the future, and then they will either have to actually do the work or fail.

Amy

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Specializes in Geriatrics, OB, Peds, and Med/Surg..
Happened in my class too.

We saw this person cheating during tests off her friend (I have no idea to this day if the friend was aware). She would sit just to the right and behind this other person during tests, but so close that it was obvious. I was not the only one to notice this, and a group of us soon brought it to the attention of the instructors. Because they had not witnessed the previous cheating they could do nothing about it, but after we raised the alarm, they would assign us seats for tests (with the person seated well away from her friend), and with at least two chair lengths away from each other.

Needless to say, this person failed out.

It ticks me off that someone would even consider cheating in nursing school much less do it. As nurses we are supposed to be ethical and moral. If you do not have those traits to begin with then you should never consider nursing. I am personally glad she failed. She may not have gotten caught red-handed, but someone who cheats should never be a nurse (although it is sad that there are probably some nurses who did cheat their way through school...scary!).

If you know a student who is cheating, the best thing is to bring your concerns to the instructors. They may not be able to prove it without a doubt, but they can make it hard for them to do it in the future, and then they will either have to actually do the work or fail.

Amy

The thing about all of this is that it was the instructors who brought it to all of our attention. That is how we found out! They made an announcement in our class and some of us (most of us) were wondering what in the heck they were talking about since it doesn't apply to us. My closest friends and I are trying to figure out who the cheaters are. If they come forward and turn themselves in then they get to remain in the program! :madface: I am ticked about that We feel that if they have been cheating, they should fail out. I guess in the long run it will catch up with them cuz they won't be able to pass the NCLEX if they don't know the material! I just wanted to get other's view on this! Thanks for all the comments! :nurse:

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