If your teacher gets her tests directly off the Internet...

grpman · May 4, 2012

If anyone is to blame it would be the instructor for being so naive. Does she think that students only study from the text book? Sheesh!

jt43 · May 4, 2012

If it's public on the internet, then I don't think it's cheating. I do think any teacher who takes exam questions straight from a public website is lazy.

mindlor · May 4, 2012

My teachers pulled questions word for word from our textbook, the study guides that came with the textbooks and from the various NCLEX review books such as Saunders.....

I studied all of these books and did every single relevent question and studied the rationales....

Am I cheating because I am studying from the books that were assigned to me on my books list?

I say NOT.

KimberlyRN89, BSN, RN · May 5, 2012

I would still say study the content. A lot of my classmates would study just the test bank that they bought on the internet, but would still FAIL the tests, and eventually, the class. Why? Because of this: the teacher would just use the questions as examples..she wouldn't go word-for-word from that particular bank. For example, a question from the test bank might ask "Clinical manifestations of right sided heart failure include (select all that apply). You study all of that & then on the test the teacher might have a question "Clinical manifestations of left sided heart failure include (select all that apply)". So it's important to know your content ..just my 2 cents! :)

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · May 5, 2012

And you happen to stumble across the test bank while correcting a test, would you study the tests for future tests? There was a story about a professor accusing 200 students of cheating for this. Everyone I know seems to think its ok, the majority of the class knows about this resource. What are y'all's thoughts?

Wow- I'm pretty clumsy but I've never stumbled over a test bank before, let alone the one my instructor was using.

It's cheating if he says it's cheating.

lifelearningrn, BSN, RN · May 5, 2012

I think there is a huge difference between reading the assigned material and obtaining a copy of the test. It doesn't really matter where you got the test- it's still your exams test questions. Having the question in advance is cheating and grounds for dismissal.

sandanrnstudent · May 5, 2012

I would say if you are having to ask yourself if it is cheating or not, you probably shouldn't be doing it. It comes down to one's ethics and I think it is better to study the material from the resources provided and keep your integrity in tact.

Just my 2 cents,

sandanrnstudent

Melseal · May 5, 2012

How I stumbled across it was when I got a test back with an incorrect answer which disagreed with my interpretation on what the book said I googled the exact question. The whole test came up along with previous tests. This was next to last test for the class, but I had a pretty good idea that the next test would have questions from the same source. (Maybe 150 questions online, teacher uses 30-40 of them) I had heard from the get go that this teacher gets her tests online and everybody knows it, but I didn't see for myself until this happened.

kristin6727 · May 5, 2012

I would study it. I mean, if it is on the internet for all to see, that is the teachers fault. I would also read all the reading material so I knew everything for myself. I mean if you just go ahead and read and memorize the questions, that is not going to help you very much down the line.

AOx1 · May 6, 2012

You need to set priorities. Is it more important to be the one who passes this one exam by the most expedient means possible, or the one who approaches NCLEX with confidence knowing you are prepared? Is it more important to do just enough to pass, or to truly understand the concepts so you can safely care for your patients? Do you want to be the nurse who has the highest ethical standards or the one who rationalizes shortcuts?

I know which one I am. I know which one I want to care for me and my family. Which one will you be? Nursing school and nursing practice involve hard work, discipline, and an understanding that the easiest way isn't always the best/right way.

Excuses will always be available for bad behavior. "If the floor wasn't so understaffed, I wouldn't have to falsify documentation."

To me, the teacher may be lazy OR someone may have stolen the exam bank and posted it illegally. In either case, it doesn't justify cheating. This is similar to saying "Well, if that patient didn't want that money stolen, they shoudn't bring it to the hospital!" When I was first practicing, a man came to the ER with over $2,000 in cash in his pocket. I was the only one who was in the room when it fell from his pocket. I had a choice to make. I had student loans. I could have said "He's a drug abuser, he doesn't deserve it. He'll think he lost it earlier. He had overdosed, and will never know!" I turned the money over to security.

I guess you just have to decide if your integrity is worth the cost of passing a test vs actually studying to learn the content.

Bruce_Wayne, ASN, RN · May 9, 2012

You need to set priorities. Is it more important to be the one who passes this one exam by the most expedient means possible, or the one who approaches NCLEX with confidence knowing you are prepared? Is it more important to do just enough to pass, or to truly understand the concepts so you can safely care for your patients? Do you want to be the nurse who has the highest ethical standards or the one who rationalizes shortcuts?
I know which one I am. I know which one I want to care for me and my family. Which one will you be? Nursing school and nursing practice involve hard work, discipline, and an understanding that the easiest way isn't always the best/right way.
Excuses will always be available for bad behavior. "If the floor wasn't so understaffed, I wouldn't have to falsify documentation."
To me, the teacher may be lazy OR someone may have stolen the exam bank and posted it illegally. In either case, it doesn't justify cheating. This is similar to saying "Well, if that patient didn't want that money stolen, they shoudn't bring it to the hospital!" When I was first practicing, a man came to the ER with over $2,000 in cash in his pocket. I was the only one who was in the room when it fell from his pocket. I had a choice to make. I had student loans. I could have said "He's a drug abuser, he doesn't deserve it. He'll think he lost it earlier. He had overdosed, and will never know!" I turned the money over to security.
I guess you just have to decide if your integrity is worth the cost of passing a test vs actually studying to learn the content.

I had a similar experience while checking in a psych patient. She had withdrawn all of her savings from the bank and was going wild around the town. Found 5000 bucks while going through her belongings, and I was by myself. I can't lie and say I wasn't tempted, a lot. Like pains in my stomach temptation. But alas I turned cataloged it and turned it in to security. Supposedly this patient had withdrawn 20,000 from the bank earlier, so I don't know what she did with the other 15,000. Must of been a wild day though.