Ethics Issue: Would you report cheating

[AllieRat]

Hypothetical Situation but would you report a cheater if you weren't sure if they actually cheated or not? Let say you see a student writing down the conversion tables from their nursing text onto their desk in pencil. During the test you're too absorbed in getting a good score you don't see them use the written table. Upon leaving you see that their desk is full of erased pencil marks. Do you point this out to the professor without knowing if they used them for sure? Do you assume the professor is already aware of it and pointing it out will make them think less of you. Or do you let them hang themselves since if they doesn't know them now they'll more in likely fail the final which will make them inelligible for the program?

[sunnyjohn]

If you did not actually see them cheating you really have little to report. What you have is specualation. The student may have erased everything before the test. I would hate to get someone in trouble if I was not 100% sure.

You reap what you sow. If that other student does not know their stuff, they will pay for it later.

[Momto3andNurse2B]

I agree. If you don't actually see anything, it's only speculation. It would be unfair, even if you were right. Perhaps an anonymous note to your professor to be vigilant because it is possible there is cheating going on, without naming specific students, of course. (Cowardly, I know, but again, you can't be sure.)

Sunnyjohn is right, anyone who is cheating is not doing the work, and therefore will probably eventually have enough rope to hang themselves.

On the other hand, if I was SURE someone cheated, I would probably report it.

[LydiaNN]

Absolutely not.

[RosesrReder, BSN, MSN, RN]

even if the person did not actually use the information copied down to the table in pencil, it shows that cheating crossed their mind, but if you did not see that person actually use it then you have little grounds of accusation. although, i must point out that in some places it is up to the teacher and school to make the final decision as to wether or not they cheated (even if no one saw him/her). that student should have known better and who knows maybe she used one or two things off the material copied or none.

it is entirely up to you if you want to call it to the instructors attention or not. maybe the instructor can keep an eye in future exams and do a "walk" upon handing out the exams and catch the individual red-handed. good luck to you.

[youknowho]

Absolutely not.

:yeahthat:

[Berng720]

I agree, I wouldn't say anything unless your sure about it.. I've learned from past classes (even in my nursing 101 class) that there are alot of 'cheaters' out there & its ashame...but, a 'friend' once did find a classmate cheating so bad (wore a skirt & had the answers on her leg!!) when she told our instructor the about it she was told "why didn't you raise your hand or come up front during the test to tell me!!" then was considered a 'snitch' which I felt so bad for her because instead of being considered a good samaritan it was turned around on 'her'... that's why now I mind my own business unless the instructor can be trusted & really does want to weed out the bad seeds. the instructor told the 'cheater' who told on her & because she didn't get a 100% on her test nothing was done!! go figure..

[sweetums10]

I would just keep it to myself (or complain to my husband) if I thought I saw something like cheating. What other people do is their buisness and eventually they will sow what they reap.

[chicagrl72]

in our microbiology class someone kept a test and photocopied it which was totally forbidden....

i knew about it but decided that I would keep my mouth shut ..I just figure ..what goes around comes around

someday that person will get what is coming to them...in Virginia, where I used to live, many schools made a HUGE deal about cheating and made you sign a code of ethics etc when being enrolled

it might deter a bit but usually people who are going to cheat will do so regardless....

actually come to think of it ..i have seen tons of cheating in my school career , from high school on through community college and 4 yr "prestige" university...it sux but oh well i still keep my mouth shut and figure that these people obviously don't want to learn..their loss - it is REALLY bad though when an exam is curved UGH

[jmgrn65, RN]

I would not say a word, what goes around comes around. the person that cheats will eventually get caught one way or another. Maybe not until time to take the nclex but soon enough.

[Alloramadai]

Gosh, I see both sides of the argument. I personally would report them if I knew they were actually cheating. I think the decision is a strong moral issue, and I would worry about where to draw the line if I did not report them. What if they were a co-worker taking meds or supplies? When does tattling become reporting? Yes, what goes around comes around and they will trip up eventually. However, there are entirely too many qualified people trying to get into the program. It is a shame their spot may have been taken by the cheating schmuck.

Personal experience....a guy came into our study lab at school the day of an exam and told us exactly how many questions were on our midterm regarding the cranial nerves, and that we really needed to know about Prolactin. I found it extremely odd and disconcerting that he had such specific information. As it turns out, he was dead wrong.... the questions he mentioned were not even on the exam. But, by coming into a public place and making these statements I was put in an awkward position. Would all of us in the room have then been cheating since we were privy to this information? We sure didn't ask him; he told us this as he walked by to the soda machine. However, if his specific questions had appeared on the exam you can bet I would have mentioned it to the instructor. I work too hard and spend too much time studying to have someone get a copy of the test and pass the class.

*******

Yesterday as our normal study group (with a couple of new additions) got together to study for Pharmacology exam, one of our members reported that she had a copy of the test. I have studied for the past year with this young woman and would not have imagined she would have resorted to cheating. Before the test was passed around the room, myself and two others got up to leave. When "T" said she would email me a copy of the test later, I flatly told her I wasn't interested. How am I to raise responsible children who are told it is wrong to steal and cheat if I'm going to do it myself? This isn't an English class or mathematics class - these are peoples' lives we are learning to tend to. Our study group has gone from a nice group of eight to a select group of three. My disappointment caused lots of tossing and turning last night; she made her decision, as did the others who received copies of the test.

[Daytonite, BSN, RN]

I'm going to go against what most people are answering here for this reason. . .you don't want the "what goes around comes around" theory to be at the mercy of some unsuspecting patient in the future. Sometimes karmic payback takes a while to collect on the debt. I would definitely report what you saw to the instructor: the student wrote the conversion tables on the desktop in pencil and when you checked after class they were erased. Leave it at that and let the instructor deal with the information.