Hi, all. I'm an LPN student and I need some advice on a moral/ethical issue about one of my classmates.
Some background info: My class is mostly not-your-average students - most of us are in our mid-to-late twenties and early thirties, but quite a few are in their 40's and 50's. We all get a long pretty well - which is a miracle, a whole bunch of women shoved together (there's only one man in our class). Most of us are pretty tight nit and no one goes running to our instructor over little minuscule issues - such as so-and-so's tattoo is showing or so-and-so didn't do that, blah, blah, blah. But I've recently come into some information that is a HUGE issue.
A woman in my class recently told me that she hasn't written a single paper - a woman she works with writes the papers for her. This woman asks my classmate to take her shifts and in exchange for working these shifts, the woman writes the papers for my classmate.
I really like my classmate - but this really, really IRRITATES me. I have been working my butt off - trying to do clinicals, care plans, study for tests, write papers - well, all of you know the workload nursing students deal with. Not only that, but I have a 3 yr old at home and a husband who works sometimes as much as 70 hours a week, give or take. My classmate, on the other hand, has several children but they're all grown (the youngest is 17) and her husband is disabled and receives disability - he stays home all day, does ALL the cleaning and cooking, manages the entire household so that his wife can focus on school. I know it's wrong, but I wouldn't be so irritated if this classmate of mine was a single mom with several kids to raise on her own or something - at least then I could empathize. What makes me even more irritated is that this woman has all this help from her husband, someone else writes her papers for her, and she supposedly has tons of time to study - and she's barely passing!
Anyway, enough of my rambling - what should I do? Should I talk to my instructor face-to-face? Should I leave an anonymous note? Should I send her an email? Should I not tell her at all? Guys, I really don't know what to do. I live in a small town, I have to deal with these women for another 4-5 months and I don't want them to find out and think of me as a snitch - but I really don't think it's fair for someone to be skating by like this when all the rest of us are working our butts off, earning the good grades we receive, and she's having someone else do half the work for her!
Please reply as soon as you can. Thanks for your advice!
This is not only a moral and ethical issue, it is a competency issue. Writing papers is an integral part of nursing school, and if this person is either unwilling or unable to comply with this requirement, he or she should not be graduating. One of my very pet peeves is RN's who use incorrect grammar. Makes us all look stupid.
It's not hearsay if she was told directly by this woman that she was cheating. Hearsay would have been if the woman told someone else, and that someone else told the OP.
If someone cheats by having people write their papers for them it speaks to their character and is an indicator of future behavior. I strongly disagree with ignoring this. Take her aside and tell her you have had time to reflect on what she told you and you think it stinks and it is cheating.
Even though I think you should tell your administration, I doubt that her telling you is enough for them to do anything about. You could speak to your administration and tell them that, although you don't have enough information to give them details, someone has claimed that they are getting their papers written for them by a work colleague.
Specializes in home health, public health, Parrish nsg.
As an Instructor I would want to know, and all faculty would watch her more closely. It is not fair, plus it does put the patinet at risk because she is demonstrating having knowledge in class that she does not posses in the clinical setting. The problem is that when you report it I know that you would want the faculty to do something right then, but I don't believe they will be able to do this because it would be your word against hers. There has to be physical evidence that she is cheating
Suppose someone wanted to push your buttons because they think you have a big mouth..and let's say they push your buttons by admitting something that they know would just kill you inside with anger. Well suppose what they told you is 100% untrue. Suppose they tell you that they cheated in this way or that, but it's untrue? How dumb would you look in the eyes of others and the faculty? Which is why unless you have PROOF(which there has been NONE in this entire thread), it really isn't in your best interest to run your mouth about something. If someone confessed to a crime, but it isn't caught on tape and there's no proof...well it's just a waste of money in court because they are let go.
I don't need proof because I'm not trying to prove anything. It's not my job to prosecute, it's my job to report what I know. After I do my part, the faculty decide what they need to do.
I would report what was told to me by the student. Not because I was angry, but because it's my responsibility. This isn't hearsay, because the student told me themself. If they lied to me, then they have just openned themselves up to higher scrutiny by the faculty. Doesn't make me look bad, and since I'm not cheating, increased scrutiny of my work will only show that I don't cheat.
If you report her and it becomes known to the class you could become a pariah. While it may be right for you to report her, you could become 'dead right' if you do. Further, if you claim it you could be forced to prove it in court. The woman could be lying just to aggrandize herself. If you say something anonymously, she may figure out who "snitched" on her and make your life hell. " I have a friend who helps me with my grammar and spelling. She's just jealous and wants people to think I cheat. And I have a sick and disabled husband. I need this career to feed my children. Her husband makes lots of money. She's a liar." This situation will come around and bite her eventually. Don't let it bite you too.
It's not a strawman argument. What has been said over and over throughout the thread is that since the OP doesn't have "Proof" that the other student was cheating they won't get punished....so the OP shouldn't say anything.
If you report her and it becomes known to the class you could become a pariah. While it may be right for you to report her, you could become 'dead right' if you do. Further, if you claim it you could be forced to prove it in court. The woman could be lying just to aggrandize herself. If you say something anonymously, she may figure out who "snitched" on her and make your life hell. " I have a friend who helps me with my grammar and spelling. She's just jealous and wants people to think I cheat. And I have a sick and disabled husband. I need this career to feed my children. Her husband makes lots of money. She's a liar." This situation will come around and bite her eventually. Don't let it bite you too.
As the OP has no "proof" there's no way that she'll need to testify (there's nothing to testify to)....secondly, court?? Do you think the cheating student is going to take the OP to court?
Specializes in Nursing burnout retreat CE teacher, etc..
In this thread it appears there are only 2 responses that suggest you talk directly with the person who told you she was not writing her own papers. Her discomfort (or whatever she is feeling about it) prompted her to tell you about it, which I find very curious. Why did she tell you about it? It could be that she is indirectly asking for a different kind of help. Discernment is an important skill to have as a nurse. What does your gut instinct say about this person? If you sense she is without conscience, it may not matter what you say or don't say. But, if she is a flawed individual who is over her head in nursing school, there could be many factors at work here. Perhaps you could ask your instructor for a discussion about ethics and honesty in the nursing profession. You could ask this question, without giving any details, in class about what to do if you know or observe someone lying via nursing notes, giving report about a patient, etc. Make sure this alleged cheater is also in the class when you ask this. Yes, karma does work...but also, everyone and every situation shows up in our lives for us to learn something about ourselves. Sweeping it under the rug is never a good approach for a nurse or a student nurse. Nursing is a life or death profession, and being a professional is directly related to being ethical. Human beings, all of us, are flawed and are works-in-progress. This dilemma is an important one for you. Talk directly with the person involved about the ethical dilemma you have, leave judgment out of this discussion. Back to my original question: why did she tell you about this in the first place?
Specializes in Medical Surgical/Addiction/Mental Health.
In this thread it appears there are only 2 responses that suggest you talk directly with the person who told you she was not writing her own papers. Her discomfort (or whatever she is feeling about it) prompted her to tell you about it, which I find very curious. Why did she tell you about it? It could be that she is indirectly asking for a different kind of help. Discernment is an important skill to have as a nurse. What does your gut instinct say about this person? If you sense she is without conscience, it may not matter what you say or don't say. But, if she is a flawed individual who is over her head in nursing school, there could be many factors at work here. Perhaps you could ask your instructor for a discussion about ethics and honesty in the nursing profession. You could ask this question, without giving any details, in class about what to do if you know or observe someone lying via nursing notes, giving report about a patient, etc. Make sure this alleged cheater is also in the class when you ask this. Yes, karma does work...but also, everyone and every situation shows up in our lives for us to learn something about ourselves. Sweeping it under the rug is never a good approach for a nurse or a student nurse. Nursing is a life or death profession, and being a professional is directly related to being ethical. Human beings, all of us, are flawed and are works-in-progress. This dilemma is an important one for you. Talk directly with the person involved about the ethical dilemma you have, leave judgment out of this discussion. Back to my original question: why did she tell you about this in the first place?
Your post is very eloquently written. Your screen name, "thedeeperwell" suits you. Bravo!
tipsplease
19 Posts
This is not only a moral and ethical issue, it is a competency issue. Writing papers is an integral part of nursing school, and if this person is either unwilling or unable to comply with this requirement, he or she should not be graduating. One of my very pet peeves is RN's who use incorrect grammar. Makes us all look stupid.