I'm taking pre-reqs right now. My Nutrition class is the worst because there are so many side effects (toxicity/deficiency) of vitamins, minerals, or other nutrients and all these numbers about suggested intake and chemical reactions and ... *breathes* just so many details. I take the exams online so that I can cheat and use my notes- I'm sorry but I have to! There is no way I can memorize a hundred different details in such a short amount of time, especially when they are overlapping details (A is true for 1, and both A and B are true for 2. But for 3 only A is true.)
It seems this way with most medical/scientific things like pharmacology and the proper diagnoses of illnesses: rather than straightforward details, it's a bunch of overlapping symptoms and rules and numbers.
Ramble ramble ramble. My point is... I know I have to learn and memorize something while I'm here. I should have some recall when I attend school to learn something. But am I really going to be expected to run off exact lists of all symptoms of a drug or all signs of a disease at the drop of a hat? Do you guys recall all the medical info you need to treat your patients like it is second nature? Surely you guys get to look things up and make sure you got the details correct, right? You aren't expected to be a walking reference book... are you?
I would hope the answer is "of course not," but my dad was a nurse and is now a P.A and he really is a walking reference book. He knows all the numbers and details off the top of his head... sorry but if that's what it's like working in the medical field forget it!
You can't remember everything you learn in school and you do have resources available to you as a nurse... sometimes. I work in a nursing home/transition care... Our med books... when you can find them are terrible and they don't trust nurses with internet access. We have some skills and med/surg books, but again they aren't of the highest quality. So I do have to go back to some of the things I learned in nursing school.
I would use this nutrition class as practice for nursing school. You will find yourself having to memorize lots of information in very short periods of time and you will be removed from nursing school if you use notes.
Plus you have to remember EVERYTHING from nursing school for the NCLEX and they really don't let you use notes on that one.
I'm surprised no one is bringing up the topic of ethics. It doesn't matter if no one will find out, you clearly know you are not supposed to use your notes and yet you continue to do so.
I'm sorry, but like you said, you are cheating.
Being a recent grad, I'm really saddened that this type of behavior is being condoned and accepted on here. As you are thinking about a career in the healthcare field, I would strongly urge you to re-think your ethics, because there won't always be something to prevent you from cheating (i.e. if you were in an in-class nutrition course would you bring notes and try to use them? Probably not, so use your moral compass and do the right thing). How you act as a student WILL translate to how you will practice as a nurse, it comes down to you. /end rant, sorry i had to get that out.
p.s. No you don't need to remember every single detail from NS or pre-reqs, you will remember what you need to know. Your Dad knows all those values and information because it's probably relevant to what he does on a day to day basis. Like most things, you use it, or you lose it.
I agree on every point.
When your out there in the real world just remember your 'Scope of Nursing Practice' and only do what you are competent to do. There are a million resources out there to help you, including your fellow nurses! What you dont remember your colleague will and vice versa and it all comes with experience anyway. Also i agree with previous posts that you will get amazingly great in your speciality but know nothing of another, simply because you dont work there... and thats ok!
And good on you for sticking up for yourself in you reply post above, its not really cheating, you obviously work hard. Stick with it and good luck!
It's surprising what some people will attempt to justify. Like the poster above said, when you take shortcuts in one area you will take them in another.
I'm surprised no one is bringing up the topic of ethics. It doesn't matter if no one will find out, you clearly know you are not supposed to use your notes and yet you continue to do so.
I'm sorry, but like you said, you are cheating.
Being a recent grad, I'm really saddened that this type of behavior is being condoned and accepted on here. As you are thinking about a career in the healthcare field, I would strongly urge you to re-think your ethics, because there won't always be something to prevent you from cheating (i.e. if you were in an in-class nutrition course would you bring notes and try to use them? Probably not, so use your moral compass and do the right thing). How you act as a student WILL translate to how you will practice as a nurse, it comes down to you. /end rant, sorry i had to get that out.
p.s. No you don't need to remember every single detail from NS or pre-reqs, you will remember what you need to know. Your Dad knows all those values and information because it's probably relevant to what he does on a day to day basis. Like most things, you use it, or you lose it.
I agree. You are dishonoring yourself, your school, and by extension, my profession. I am ashamed of this behavior. I am ashamed that colleagues are content to blithely shrug it off. And saddened. Truly. However, my feelings are irrelevant.
I do think if you really believe it is acceptable OP, you should act on your convictions! Therefore, I challenge you to contact your professor and the dean of academic affairs immediately, detail your actions and outline the sound justifications. If you don't follow through with this righteous action based on your firmly held beliefs, well, I guess we will all know why.
I have taken online classes, and never was "expected" that we would disregard the honor code. To imply that all distance students are dishonest is insulting.
To answer the question put forth, no I don't remember everything from nutrition class. I remembered it then because I studied it and learned it then. However, I do admit to having forgotten a great deal of the details in the intervening 25 years.
Plus you have to remember EVERYTHING from nursing school for the NCLEX and they really don't let you use notes on that one.
I'm not sure what you learned in school, but this is farrrrr from the truth in my opinion. True, they wont let you use notes, but for the NCLEX, you have to know the basics. They are not going to test you on the patho of how the K/Na pump works. And I remember far too many lectures about that (or rather, I remember being lectured on the topic, but not the actual info!). Maybe that's the trouble when it comes to failing the NCLEX. People really think that you have to know everything and they become so overwhelmed and it really is too much information to know. Passing the NCLEX doesnt mean you are going to be super nurse, it just means that you know how to study for tests and find the right answer - key phase 'finding the right answer' which isnt the same thing as 'knowing the right answer'.
Specializes in Medical and general practice now LTC.
going to leave this a little while for a cooling down period. what i will say however is can i please remind everyone that personal attacks are not tolerated and please please use the report button (bottom left of the post) and report a post that you feel or is a personal attack and let staff deal with it.
personal attacks
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casi, ASN, RN
2,063 Posts
You can't remember everything you learn in school and you do have resources available to you as a nurse... sometimes. I work in a nursing home/transition care... Our med books... when you can find them are terrible and they don't trust nurses with internet access. We have some skills and med/surg books, but again they aren't of the highest quality. So I do have to go back to some of the things I learned in nursing school.
I would use this nutrition class as practice for nursing school. You will find yourself having to memorize lots of information in very short periods of time and you will be removed from nursing school if you use notes.
Plus you have to remember EVERYTHING from nursing school for the NCLEX and they really don't let you use notes on that one.