If you think you are not harming anyone by your actions, you are wrong. You are very likely hurting not only yourself, and cheating yourself out of becoming the best nurse you can be, you are also harming your entire class, and very likely those who follow behind you. The consequences of cheating do affect the entire class, especially those students who put as much effort into studying for an exam, as you do figuring out a supposed easy way to pass. It creates an atmosphere on exam days that is hostile, which increases the anxiety of the entire class, and is especially harmful to those who already have test anxiety. The increase in anxiety causes those who studied hard to not perform as well as usual, or even improve significantly due to fear of being labeled a cheater. It also punishes those who worked hard, but are no longer allowed to learn from their mistakes due to not longer being able to review exams.
Basically cheaters suck, and it sucks being punished for the actions of another!
Signed,
Frustrated Nursing Student who is working her bum off to become a great nurse!
As a long-time (looonnnggg time) educator, I am very saddened that the standard of behavior has decreased so much.
There is a growing tendency to adopt a 'universal precautions' type of approach when administering any type of test/assessment. We automatically take precautions that minimize opportunities to cheat such as: no electronic devices; no extra materials/papers; separating participants to prevent visual access; etc. So sad.
I might be completely naive, but I can't even figure out how you'd cheat on a nursing exam?! Are they somehow signalling answers to each other (which seems pretty dumb to me, because you have to really trust that the person giving you the right answer is actually RIGHT!) I always wonder why the people who spend so much energy concocting elaborate methods to cheat don't just spend that time studying?!
This was my thought too... we can't have anything in front of us, not a glass of water - nothing! calculators must be ones provided by the college. We can have a pencil (2) and a highlighter. we have to sit e/o space. Bags have to be at the back of the room, no coats on the chairs... how would one even cheat in that situation? (rhetorical question)
I don't even see how that would be possible..... Nursing school exam material is more protected than Fort Knox. Is med school and law school the same way? I wonder if all education programs where you become licensed are like this, or just nursing. In any event, I agree with PP, why spend all that energy being deceitful when you could be studying and actually earning your grade.
The biggest thing I see is classes where there are two or more separate sections. So one section takes the test on, say, Tuesday, and the next section takes the test on Thursday. "Don't talk to any of your classmates who are in Thursday's section," the instructors say. Are you kidding me? I hear people talking about questions and answers in the halls all the time.
I'm a 2nd year ADN student. One of the 1st year students apparently cheated on a test and now, both grades of students are being punished for it. We're not in trouble, but the school changed some testing procedures and the rest of us don't think it's fair. I hate getting things taken away because of someone else's bad behavior.
I might be completely naive but I can't even figure out how you'd cheat on a nursing exam?! Are they somehow signalling answers to each other (which seems pretty dumb to me, because you have to really trust that the person giving you the right answer is actually RIGHT!) I always wonder why the people who spend so much energy concocting elaborate methods to cheat don't just spend that time studying?![/quote']
I know of a school near me where cheating was a huge problem. Somehow one of the students got ahold of the test bank one of the teachers was using. Each semester was then selling the answers to the next. Long story short, the board put them on probation for low NCLEX pass rates. :karma:
Cheating not only hurts the cheater and classmates, cheating hurts FUTURE patients! You can cause big problems and even kill someone in nursing if you don't know what you are doing. I would never want someone who cheated through nursing school to take care of me!
What's sad is that teachers punish everyone with constant threats and waste precious class time discussing the wrongs of cheating.
Even worse when faculty creates such a negative environment that students start talking about who they think or heard was cheating.
Those "talked about" students get isolated because of what another student tells another student and so on. Really bad especially when you don't know who the real cheaters are.
Often times the person cheating is the one that feels it necessary to tell others that so and so is cheating. In my experience, people do this to take any attention off of themselves.
When this started happening in my program, I simply stayed away from the gossipers (at least when given a choice) and sat alone.
Beware-Those that act like your friends are often the first to make false statements about others.
From, another frustrated student that is also working their living you know what off!!!
No the worst part is the "They wont pass the NCLEX" attitude. It irks me to no end. The problem should be squashed and dealt with without prejudice in school. By saying they wont pass the NCEX it puts the burden on someone else. What happens when they do pass? What will you say then?
I know someone who cheated and she still passed the NCLEX. She was scary to work around. Our school says they "handled" it by slapping her on the wrists.
No the worst part is the "They wont pass the NCLEX" attitude. It irks me to no end. The problem should be squashed and dealt with without prejudice in school. By saying they wont pass the NCEX it puts the burden on someone else. What happens when they do pass? What will you say then?
I know someone who cheated and she still passed the NCLEX. She was scary to work around. Our school says they "handled" it by slapping her on the wrists.
Oh, I was going to say pretty much the same thing!
Also, the NCLEX is not that hard...
There.
I said it.
Someone who cheats through school can pass the NCLEX and then go on to be a working nurse.
Like That Guy said, cheaters need to squashed in school and not be left to "not pass the NCLEX"...
Oh I was going to say pretty much the same thing! Also, the NCLEX is not that hard... There. I said it. Someone who cheats through school can pass the NCLEX and then go on to be a working nurse. Like That Guy said, cheaters need to squashed in school and not be left to "not pass the NCLEX"... Because they may just pass it after all.[/quote']
Yikes!!!
NCLEX not that hard? That's scary. I found It very challenging..but that's just me.
HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD
9,051 Posts
As a long-time (looonnnggg time) educator, I am very saddened that the standard of behavior has decreased so much.
There is a growing tendency to adopt a 'universal precautions' type of approach when administering any type of test/assessment. We automatically take precautions that minimize opportunities to cheat such as: no electronic devices; no extra materials/papers; separating participants to prevent visual access; etc. So sad.