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?

My question to you is if your classmate is unable to be honest in academic matters, will she continue the dishonesty in her nursing practice?

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So, she has received grants. Not only doesn't she have to pay for her education...

she feels she doesn't have to work at it either.

Then disrespects other students by blatantly cheating. Is she assuming her classmates are as clueless as the instructor?

Guess you know what MY vote is.

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Specializes in Anesthesia.

whoops, i did not see that this post has only been up for a day. (i am the one who said "so, what happened?!?!?!?!?"

I would report the cheater.

Please let us know what happens, when it happens!

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Personally, I'd go to your professor, and just let them know that you're suspicious about the girl in question. Say that you've seen her take her phone out during a test and you think that she was using it to try and cheat. But again, once she gets into nursing (you said it was pre-reqs), then once she gets into nursing she'll get a harsh realization once she does get caught and her chances of ever working as a nurse will be shot.

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Specializes in Oncology; medical specialty website.

keep your head down, work hard and myob. these things get straightened out eventually.

when i was a freshman, there was a girl in my class who was cheating on tests (pre-cell phones/computers). it made us mad, but no one ratted her out. one day we were taking a test in a&p, and all of a sudden the instructor yelled out, "suzanne! do you have a problem?"

i mean to tell you, that knocked 5 years off the life of everyone in that classroom...it scared us witless.

after that day, we never saw her again. it was like she was "disappeared." i still remember her full name, what she looked like, etc. that experience told everyone in the classroom that you had better not cheat, because you will be found out.

unfortunately, not everyone took that lesson to heart, because the next year, several people were discovered participating in an organized cheating conspiracy. every single one of them were kicked out, with no possibility of return. and i can guarantee you that they didn't get into another school, because the way my program was run, they would have made sure no one else would have accepted them.

just focus on your studies. cheaters eventually trip themselves up.

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I have been in your position, and I made no issue with reporting first off it is a competitive program that you work hard at. You did deserve it more than a person who cheated their way through. This happened in my psych class, I had a good relationship with my prof so I talked to her the day it happened. Then it happened in my ap2 course, I wasn't comfortable with telling the prof but three other students felt the same way. Each of us wrote a handwritten note, and anonymously left it on the professor desk, or school mail box. On both occasions the student was barred from entry into the program. The worst part was that in each class we were allowed a limited number of index cards for notes. Not my fault they took poor notes and needed to use their phones. However I was not going let someone cheat me out of my position in the program out of fear of being labeled a tattle tail.

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Specializes in Hospitalist Medicine.
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?

No ifs, ands, or buts about it....REPORT HER!

It's not fair to you and the other students in your class that she is cheating on her exams. Cheating is grounds for disciplinary action or expulsion in most schools. I cannot tolerate cheaters. You should EARN your spot, not cheat to get it. What is she going to do when faced with a life-threatening situation if she ever (doubt it) became a nurse? Not knowing the material can cause you to make a deadly mistake.

I would suggest you contact your professor as soon as possible. Or if you don't feel comfortable, report it anonymously to administration. It would be great if they catch her doing it red-handed!

Now, no comparing a cheated grade to your own, hard-earned grade! You worked for it :D

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Specializes in Neonatal ICU.

Back when I was in high school, I would have never said anything about those that cheated because I think I was more concerned with making sure my peers liked me. Now that I'm 28 and have been out in the "real world" for a while, I think I would definitely say something! I wouldn't make a huge scene out of it (i.e. standing up in the middle of the next test and dramatically announcing to everyone that she's cheating :p), but I think it's necessary to discretely point this out to the professor. If the professor chooses not to do anything about it, then that's his/her decision...at least you know that you did your part to stop it from happening. I do agree with people that even if she passes this class and gets into Nursing school, she won't make it very far. But I honestly don't think people should be given the chance to start Nursing school until they've grown up and can put the necessary amount of work into it...especially when there are plenty of excellent students working their tails off just to have that opportunity! Keep us posted!

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Report her! I'm not even in my A&P class yet & I'm studying like crazy to learn the material. I wouldn't want a nurse who had to cheat her way through body systems.

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Specializes in telemetry.

Whether or not you report her, your hard work will be rewarded. Although it doesn't feel like it right now, you will see, in time your effort will benefit you. At my school it was nearly impossible to cheat on nursing tests. A & P is such an intrinsic part of understanding fundamental nursing skills and *should* she even make it that far, her cheating will come back to bite her in the a**. I don't want to discredit the difficulty of A & P I or II but if she is unable to put effort into those *black and white, cut and dried* tests, she will have another thing coming in nursing school. While I understand how difficult all the pre-req's appear to the student in them, how I felt during those classes, I laugh at myself now and did so once I was in the actual nursing program. Nursing school was a totally different beast! I was able to memorize my way through A & P I, II and micro, but nursing tests require a type of application that is completely different than other types of tests, at least at my school. You will do fine. Good Luck during your pursuit of a nursing education and career!

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Specializes in Med-Surg/DOU/Ortho/Onc/Rehab/ER/.

Let her cheat. One of two things will happen in the near future. She will a) get caught or b) or rely on cheating so much that either in other pre reqs or the program she will fail because there wont be a way to cheat. My micro professor used to collect everyones cell phone before an exam and put them on the front table. If your phone even vibrated, you would fail. If you stuck your phone out and didn't turn it in the front, automatic fail.

Karma is a b****

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Definitely talk to the professor about it. I wouldn't confront her directly because she might be defensive or deny what's going on but for the fairness of the program and her future career as a nurse or anything in the medical field that relies on HONESTY, you would be doing yourself as well as the whole program and profession a major FAVOR. Good luck!

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