Grading integrity

ruby_jane, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2020

How do you know this?

A lot of nursing school is managing your own expectations. Accessing data bank questions was something that was going on before I was in nursing school. If teachers are using any kind of data base there's probably someone hacking in and using that in some way.

This may or may not help them pass the NCLEX and it won't help them when they are in front of a patient (or a preceptor) and do not actually know the information that they've borrowed.

Olypen Nursing Student, you do you, hon. Don't worry about everyone else. I guarantee you in five years none of this will matter.

KrCmommy522, BSN, RN · Nov 4, 2020

My son is doing online school with all that’s going on. He’s in 10th grade. He always gets upset saying how he’s studying and putting time in that he would if he was in school, but knows other people aren’t and “it’s not fair.” I told him unfortunately life isn’t always fair. There’s always going to be people taking shortcuts. Sometimes they’ll get caught, sometimes they won’t. But, what will happen is they aren’t going to have to knowledge that they need. Things will end up being harder for them. Like, if things change and they go back into school, and then have to start taking tests in class again, then they won’t know anything needed to pass that test because they’d been looking up the answers this whole time while at home. So, all you can do is control what you do. You know you’re doing the right thing, doing it the right way and should be proud of that. You could be looking up answers, but you aren’t. Be proud of yourself for doing it right. Be proud of yourself and confident in the fact that you’re learning what you need to know and it will stay with you, and you’ll be able to use that knowledge. That’s all you can do. You can’t control what other people are doing, so why worry about it. Some people are always going to find ways to cheat, whether that’s looking on quizlet, buying test banks, or even writing the answers on their hands. You can’t control that. Maybe they’ll get caught, but even if they do or don’t, that’s not going to effect you at all, so why worry about it? Just focus on you! There’s enough to stress about in nursing school, this shouldn’t be one of them!

Olypen Nursing Student · Nov 5, 2020

Thank you both, your understanding makes me feel better. Someone told me, and I really wish they hadn't said anything. You can definitely tell who puts in the time in lab and when they speak in class.

Thank you for giving me the encouragement I needed to buck up and get back to my mountain of papers.

mncarlisle · Nov 6, 2020

I just want to say I'm a third year nursing student currently, and I can't help but think about the same thing when exams come around. Most of my professors proctor our exams via zoom so it would be really difficult to cheat in those classes, but I do have 1 or 2 that don't proctor at all and I know so many people cheat/don't study. I personally agree with the other 2 people who commented as well. I always remind myself that you pretty much learn about the same general things over & over again in nursing school, but it gets increasingly more detailed and difficult each semester. So, the kids who aren't studying this semester are honestly doing themselves a disservice because they are going to be extremely behind next semester (or whatever semester we're finally allowed back in class). You have amazing self-discipline and take your learning and schoolwork seriously, that's something to be super proud of. You are going to thank yourself for putting the time in now, not only when next semester comes around, but also in a few years when you take the NCLEX. All of these people that are cheating are missing a large chunk of information that will be on the NCLEX so they're either going to fail or have to cram extra studying in beforehand. I am genuinely impressed by your dedication and hope you continue to put in the work now, not only for you, but for your future patients. It's worth it. Keep going, stay disciplined, and no matter how difficult some of these classes get, stay motivated :))

Olypen Nursing Student · Nov 6, 2020

Thank you so much for your kind words. I am working so hard right now. I study, write papers, practice skills and do other assignments from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep. Nursing school is basically 18 hours a day, so I own this material. I can't wait for clinicals to start so I can get back to working with patients, which is why I'm here in the first place, and that's something no one can fake.

bitter_betsy, BSN · Nov 9, 2020

First of all - I hate it when nursing schools don't make up new exams for each semester and just use "test banks" where the answers are everywhere. It does seem unfair.

Having said that - if you rely on test banks, it isn't going to help you save a patient when they are crumping in front of you. This is YOUR nursing license. YOU have to study for it and YOU have the pass the NCLEX. You can be a crappy nurse that memorizes quizlet and squeaks by on the the NCLEX or you can be a good nurse that learns what all this is actually for. Yup - your GPA suffers but that crumping patient doesn't care what your GPA was - they care that you learned how to help them. They care that you understand what that high Potassium level means. They care that you can recognize what is happening and take appropriate measures, get the doc and respiratory involved BEFORE its a problem. Absolutely do not worry about what anyone else is doing. I promise it will be obvious who studied and who memorized quizlet.

Olypen Nursing Student · Nov 9, 2020

Hi Everyone,

Thanks again for all your support. I have formed a small study group with two other students who are committed to doing it the hard way. We do extra research and develop our own study materials with the goal of understanding the material so we can apply it later. The support we give each other really helps us to keep slogging away.

Hannahbanana, BSN, MSN · Apr 22, 2021

I can guarantee you that a lot of the people who rely on shortcuts and cheating in lieu of putting in the intellectual work to learn and understand the material will be here later, whining about not passing NCLEX. Happens every year.

bitter_betsy, BSN · Apr 22, 2021

You are almost another semester closer to graduating and probably still not in class. I remembered something else too - when you DO go back to in person classes - you have an advantage in that you are learning how to think. The NCLEX isn't about memorizing answers. The questions are so obtuse that your only possibility is to think about each question and answer what seems the logical thing to do. The further I got into the test, the more convinced I had failed. The opposite is actually true - if the questions seem easy - you are probably failing. The NCLEX tests what you know by application not by memorization. Think more along the lines - it tests how you think, not the extent of your knowledge.

You just keep on keeping on. Those RN letters after your name are getting closer!!

amoLucia · Apr 22, 2021

39 minutes ago, Hannahbanana said:

I can guarantee you that a lot of the people who rely on shortcuts and cheating in lieu of putting in the intellectual work to learn and understand the material will be here later, whining about not passing NCLEX. Happens every year.

Good God, YES! And then when they do start working, they will find their individual learning curves sooooooo askew. They're so overwhelmed, no one helps them, etc.