Cheating pre-nursing students

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Thought I would bring this up because it has been happening way too much at my school and it is my biggest pet peeve.

So I took Anatomy my first semester of college. The classroom was about 90% women wanting to enter the nursing program. About 2 weeks into the semester we had our first quiz. We had a quiz every week after that. By about the 4th quiz, my teacher figured out that a group of 3 girls had been cheating on quizzes. So from there on we rearranged seats for every quiz and test to prevent cheating.

This very same situation has happened in a lot of my other classes that consist of mostly pre-nursing students. It happened in Physio., Psych., Human Development, and even my EMT class which consists mostly of CNAs, LVNs, MAs, and psych. techs wanting to switch careers.

I understand the pressure that we are under to get good grades but at the same time, if anyone isn't commited to learning the material, or just doesn't have the time to study, why would they want to go into nursing? Has nursing been glorified so much to the point that people will do anything just to get in? I guess people really are that desperate. I don't like it at all.

What do you think?

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I agree! One of my biggest pet peeves is when I work my butt off on homework in A&P Lab or Microbio or Chem and someone who I have talked to a total of like 4 times asks to copy my stuff. It's one thing to help someone out with a question they don't understand, but copy the whole thing? Are you kidding me? I always think to myself "WHY are you here!?"

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Yep! I would spend 7 hours or more doing study guides for Physio. and I would be furious if someone asked me to copy.

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Specializes in Acute Care, Rehab, Palliative.

I just stayed away from these people.They were weeded out pretty quickly.Cheating will only get you so far.

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Ya it's interesting too see the difference between how many people start off in the first few classes compared to the amount that actually stick with it and try until the end. Bio and chem classes deffinately weed out a lot of people.

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Specializes in My favs so far are OB and Neuro ICU.

This is a pet peve of mine's as well. I don't mind working my butt off for the grade that I deserve, but I will be damned if someone copies my work. People need to stand on their own two feet. If they can't handle it, then maybe they shouldn't be in nursing school.

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Yep! I would spend 7 hours or more doing study guides for Physio. and I would be furious if someone asked me to copy.

No need to be furious with someone who asks...JUST SAY NO! As someone else said, it is one thing to help someone understand a concept (and explaining it to you in your own words will actually help YOU too!), but to copy ALL of your notes? ...uhhh, sorry, but DO YOUR OWN WORK!!!

...learning to set boundaries now will help you immensely in your future...

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You are there to learn, and either you put the time in and learn it, or hold study groups to help one another to learn the material, but copying from another is just unethical. These people will not get far with their ways. I would just take care of your own and do your best and pay them no mind.

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Specializes in Psych/Mental Health.

I'm glad you brought this up. I had an incident recently where one of my Chemistry lab partners asked me for a "favor" right before the lecture's exam. I got stuck with him in lab because everyone from my table and the table next to me dropped the course after the 2nd exam. Anyway, he wanted me to memorize some of the questions and give them to him, and he would make an excuse to take the test a few days later. I gave him a "are you kidding me!?" look and said, "No. I don't cheat."

After that incident, I refuse to discuss the lab questions or calculations with him. I just get all the experimental data and leave.

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Wow! people cheating in human development? In my experience, psychology was one of the easiest pre-regs for nursing. It is really sad to be in such a toxic environment like that. As aforementioned though, cheating will only bolster you for so long. Those students (whatever you wanna call them) if they are lucky, will probably make it into a nursing program and then reality will strike. I would bet and say that they wouldn't make it to the second semester of nursing school.

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I'm just curious how your teacher knew they were cheating? If they were caught cheating, shouldn't they have been expelled?

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.

It irritates me to no end when people come up to me and ask "can I borrow your notes?" and I know full well they're only asking because they slacked off in class and didn't bother taking notes. Why should I help someone who can't be bothered to put in the effort up front?

I have no problem lending my notes to someone who legitmately missed class (illness, family emergency, etc.), but when people are just lazy and want to take the easy way out, it really gets my ire up. :madface:

The good news is that they'll probably never make it through nursing school...cause you can't BS your way through it :D

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