Cheating in Pre-Reqs

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

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I've been a "lurker" for quiteeeeeee some time now, and I have a sort of ethical dilemma on my hands. I'm in a 4.5 week A&P I class for the summer. The girl sitting next to me has used her cell phone to cheat on every exam so far (3 total). Everyone else in the class is busting their asses to pull C's (somehow our tests never have anything to do with our lectures/notes)... Part of me says to just mind my own business and let it be, but the other part of me is enraged that I spend countless hours studying to "earn" my Bs and Cs! I know there are cheaters everywhere and I can't stop them all, but in a way she is my "competition" as we are both going for the same program. I know how upset I would be if her cheated A beat out my earned B and she got into the program. Any suggestions on what to do?

Specializes in Adult Internal Medicine.

I know it's hard to look the other way and study but....

It's rewarding in the end when they have cheated their way through $100k and can't pass the NCLEX.

I'd report it.

Specializes in Medical Oncology, Alzheimer/dementia.

I would be tempted to tell, but I probably wouldn't. I'd focus on myself and just try to make it out of that class with a decent grade. I agree, the nclex will catch her in the end. Maybe she won't even make it that far.

Specializes in Med-Surg/urology.
I would be tempted to tell, but I probably wouldn't. I'd focus on myself and just try to make it out of that class with a decent grade. I agree, the nclex will catch her in the end. Maybe she won't even make it that far.

I agree. I took A&P 1 during a summer session too 3 years ago. A good portion of the class was cheating. What made it worse is that I'm 98% certain the professor was aware & he did not care. I think it might have been b/c he liked those cheaters, and probably wanted to help them get into nursing school (even if they got there by cheating). Anyways, I did not cheat & I can say I earned my B! I also did not cheat during my LPN portion of my nursing program(and by cheating I mean using test banks). Those who attempted to cheat their way through school got weeded out, and rightfully so. Don't worry, OP. You'll get into nursing school, and you'll be able to do so by earning your grades HONESTLY.

I would definitely report it. However, don't be surprised when she is still in class and still cheating. Different schools have different policies. As other posters have said, sometimes the professor has to be the one to actually catch the cheater. Sometimes the professors aren't as diligent as they should be. Etc, etc.

I had a situation similar to this when I was in school. There was a girl we all KNEW was cheating but the professor couldn't catch her. She passed that class but eventually failed out of nursing school. You can't really cheat your way through practicals and clinicals.

Good luck with your class. A&P is a booger. Study, study, study! One thing that helped me a LOT was retyping notes from class and making flashcards. I also took pictures of bones, cells, etc and used them to help study. A&P in the summer is especially hard because you are cramming so much information into such a short time period. Break it into small chunks and tackle it.

I usually ignore cheaters but I had one banging at my door....ugh. She just started an accelerated program at a different school and she also works nights full time. One of her classes is online and she asked me to help her. When she said 'help' I thought she meant help her understand it. What she really wanted was for me to do it for her. So, I told her not to come back over her with any of her homework. About a week later, she told me she was having a relative type up a paper for her. Yes, she just brags about cheating like it's no big deal. The next thing I know, she called and asked it I had an old paper she could TURN IN. TURN IN!!!!! Can you believe that???? I pretty much bit her head off after that. I mean I feel like she really thought I was going to do the work to get both of us through nursing school. I told her if she couldnt earn her grades like I earn mine.....drop out. I didnt feel the need to report her because I'm sure one of her classmates will soon enough.

Specializes in psych, addictions, hospice, education.

I'm an instructor. It's part of my school's policy that if a student knows about cheating and does nothing about it, he or she is as guilty as the cheater.

I know it's hard to report someone else, but...

...would you want someone who cheats to take care of someone you love?

...what if she gets into nursing school and you don't?

...what if this habit continues throughout nursing school--wouldn't that mean she's not an honorable/trustworthy person? Can you accept that you did nothing?

...the instructor needs to crack down on how she observes the class during tests, and should be glad to know she needs to do so!

If you can't talk to the instructor directly, do it anonymously, but do it! If your instructor isn't responsive, talk to whoever is his/her boss about it.

Some instructors will make it their mission to catch cheaters, and do what they can to see that they face consequences. In my opinion, that's what they should do. Personally, I appreciate information my students give me.

Specializes in Emergency/Cath Lab.

Some instructors will make it their mission to catch cheaters, and do what they can to see that they face consequences. In my opinion, that's what they should do. Personally, I appreciate information my students give me.

And I love them for this. The more public the humiliation for a caught cheater the better too. Had a kid next to me cheating in Micro and the teacher sat behind him watching him cheat til he was just about done with the test. He reached over his shoulder tore it up and said not to bother coming back ever. Kid never did.

Specializes in Gerontology.

This is not a moral question but an ethical one. If she cheats as a student, she'll cheat as a nurse; not only will she cheat herself of the education REQUIRED to perform her job as a nurse, she'll cheat everyone around her - patients and fellow nurses. I have worked with sub-par nurses and having to do her job and mine made my job 10x harder.

Specializes in Interested in hospice & palliative care.

I can relate!! I have a very tall girl in my A & P II class who shows up only for exams and tends to linger behind those of use who are shorter at the practical stations. I too have a prof that seems to pull exam questions out of the sky and I study my butt off to keep my head above water as well. Several of us noticed she was cheating, but no one said anything to the prof. I handled it my own way by letting everyone go through the stations and doing mine when they were all done. Stations weren't timed so people tended to congregate and I just couldn't concentrate as well with people jockeying for position. I relayed this to my prof and told him I preferred to wait until most everyone was done and he was fine with it. If she is cheating her way through school, she won't get far. Keep your head down and your eye on the prize. They make these classes tough for a reason: to weed out people like her. Good luck!

I find that "mind your own business" is advice that never goes out of style.

Specializes in Med/Surg/Tele.
The crazy thing is I HAVE seen a tutor, talked to my professor, all that jazz and my grades do not reflect any of it! We've all come to the conclusion her tests have nothing to do with any of her lectures or what we read in the textbook :thankya:

My AP1 professor was like that. Our class learned that when she said something was not going to be on a quiz or test, that is what we needed to study! lol

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