Do Cheaters Annoy You?

Hotflashn · Mar 28, 2008

Cheaters do annoy me, since I work hard for my grades. In my anatomy class a couple years ago a student brought in a cheat sheet and tried to cheat during a lab practical. She was busted in front of the entire class. Never saw her again, but the instructor reminded everyone of the academic honestly policy, and pointed out that students caught cheating like she was are expelled and likely to never be accepted in nursing programs (I hope not!) From then on, we had multiple "spotters" who stood watch during tests.

AlishiaRN77 · Mar 28, 2008

I have to agree that cheaters do annoy me. I work full time, go to school, and deal with family issues all rolled into one and work hard for my grades. When you spot the cheaters, you burn up inside knowing what they are doing is wrong....but also know that you shouldnt have to be the one to report something like that.

It's very bothersome!!

I figure...in the end...i'm the one who's going to make a great nurse because I worked hard through the process and earned the grades that I deserved.....honestly.

Thank you for posting this....i feel better knowing others feel the same way.

coolpeach · Mar 28, 2008

It used to bother me, but not so much anymore. At first I felt like I had studied hard, and the cheater was able to get away with doing less work etc. Then it finally occured to me that the cheater is not very smart, and it only cheating themselves. I usually just shake my head, and knowingly smile....they will get theirs when it catches up to them.

I have been told that you can't cheat your way through nursing school. They will not have the background to pass on their own, and they have done nothing but waste all those years of doing pre reqs.

When you think about it ....it really doesn't make sense. We are not in elementary school we are in college. We WANT to be there !! We PAY to be there!! Why would someone make a choice to waste their time, and their money?

My college has a very stern academic honesty policy. If caught cheating not only can the student be expelled, get an automatic zero for the class they were caught cheating in, and have it on their permanant record, but the school can turn any grade earned at the college into a zero. Thats a big price to pay, and a large gamble just to get out of studying for a test. Can you imagine trying to fix a 0.0 GPA on 2 years of courses?

MISSALISSA777 · Mar 28, 2008

This happened to me in my a&p 2 lab last year. We had a lab mid term where you had these diagrams and you had to fill in the blanks (structures of the heart, kidney, etc) I look around and I see a whole table passing around the sheets that the instructor gave us to study by.... They were just putting them under their lab books. This made me so mad! Especially the next week when they were all bragging about their a's and I got a lousy c. And I think the instructor had to see what was going on, (he'd have to be blind not to), but decided to turn a blind eye. It just made me so mad that I studied my butt off for a c, and they cheated and got an a. Ughhhhh!

DLS_PMHNP, MSN, RN, NP · Mar 28, 2008

Cheaters don't ANNOY me, they scare me!

If someone is willing to cheat on an exam, don't you think than as nurses (if they make it), they won't have any problems 'cheating' on assessments, 'cheating' on their charting, etc.

Heaven forbid they ever make a med error, do you really think they are going to be honest about it?

Yup, that scares me. What if they are mine or my family's nurse someday?

No thanks

Just my :twocents:

modelmama07 · Mar 28, 2008

Cheaters don't ANNOY me, they scare me!
If someone is willing to cheat on an exam, don't you think than as nurses (if they make it), they won't have any problems 'cheating' on assessments, 'cheating' on their charting, etc.
Heaven forbid they ever make a med error, do you really think they are going to be honest about it?
Yup, that scares me. What if they are mine or my family's nurse someday?
No thanks
Just my

I totally agree! It is a scary situation, considering they are okay with "just getting by" or doing "whatever means necessary"...:uhoh21:

Bayley · Mar 29, 2008

I know exactly how you feel. I've seen a people cheat in some of my classes and it's so frustrating when you know you studied so hard for a test and they're just taking the easy way out. Though I've never told on them to a teacher, I'm a firm believer in karma. In the end it will be us who succeed from our hard studying.

2bNurse Elizabeth · Mar 29, 2008

Cheaters don't ANNOY me, they scare me!
If someone is willing to cheat on an exam, don't you think than as nurses (if they make it), they won't have any problems 'cheating' on assessments, 'cheating' on their charting, etc.
Heaven forbid they ever make a med error, do you really think they are going to be honest about it?
Yup, that scares me. What if they are mine or my family's nurse someday?
No thanks
Just my

I absolutely agree with you! I've seen this happen, both with a nurse and with a doctor, when dealing with my mom's care. After my mom passed away because of multiple errors by her cardiothoracic surgeon, he actually tried to have his name take off of her case! Yikes! :angryfire I think that's when I finally decided to go into nursing. I want to make sure that I give my patients the very best care humanly possible. Not that I won't make mistakes, I'm sure I will. BUT I know I won't deny them!

dtrmnd2sccd · Mar 29, 2008

Cheaters don't ANNOY me, they scare me!
If someone is willing to cheat on an exam, don't you think that as nurses (if they make it), they won't have any problems 'cheating' on assessments, 'cheating' on their charting, etc.
Heaven forbid they ever make a med error, do you really think they are going to be honest about it?

This is exactly my feeling. The cheater mentality doesn't stop with tests--it pervades every part of their life. As PPs stated, it certainly didn't start with NS, and unless they are called to the carpet for it, it won't end there, either. These people need to be weeded out of our profession before they get their foot in the door, before they put people's lives at risk just so they can cut corners and save themselves some effort.

Having taught in higher ed myself for years, I would want to know if cheating were going on in my classroom. I would approach the professor and let him/her know what I saw, so that they would be aware of it and be able to catch it themselves in the future.

1rarejewel · Apr 7, 2008

ITA....it burns my butt when I see people cheating, be it on exams or assignments. There has been plenty of times when I didn't study, be it because I didn't have the time, or the desire, but I readily accepted the grade I EARNED for my efforts.

I see them and just pray to God that they get caught at some point in time, before it's too late and someone gets hurt. God forbid they cause a death, permanent or temporary illness or injury, or cause someone else to lose their job and reputation because of their lies and cheating.

I have an instructor in my A&P class that has us write FAIR/UNFAIR on our exams. If someone has been cheating, from us or we notice it from somewhere else, we circle unfair...that makes her more watchful for future tests. I do love that option. She won't even ask you personally who you saw do it...that way you can tell her to be on the lookout without saying a word.

RN BSN 2009 · Apr 7, 2008

Check your school/program's academic dishonesty policy. In my NS, if we witness academic dishonesty and do not report it we can get in just as much trouble as the cheater. CYA. You know what's best.