Rampant Cheating

Nursing Students Pre-Nursing

Published

Hi -

Just curious if anyone else sees rampant cheating going on at their school. I witness it in my Chemistry class all the time.

Its so lame. Adults pulling out cheat sheets and writing answers and formulas on their desks.

I am taking A&P I next semsester and when i asked around for Professor recommendations people said, "oh, try to take so-and-so, everyone cheats and gets A's".

Ummm...kinda scary. Correct me if i'm wrong, but wouldnt a nurse actually need to know some of the things taught in A&P to be a good nurse?

Anyway, my school is an ultra-competitive community college - something like 2,200 students trying to get into 120 nursing spots. Perhaps that is what is driving lots of people to feel they have to cheat.

Anyway, was just curious.

Specializes in Case Management, Home Health, UM.
I saw alot of cheating at my school, and yes I did report it. The instructor couldn't beleive that anyone would cheat. To make a long story short, the cheaters had trouble passing the NCLEX, and some had difficulties on their jobs coping with the people and the stress.

Just goes to show you that what goes around...comes around.

Specializes in SNF.

I just witnessed this in my micro class yesterday. I studied all week, and 4 hours the night before at Barnes and Noble, away from my familly...and this chick pulled out a cheat sheet .....we made eye contact....she cheated the first hour exam test as well.... It is just not fair

I just witnessed this in my micro class yesterday. I studied all week, and 4 hours the night before at Barnes and Noble, away from my familly...and this chick pulled out a cheat sheet .....we made eye contact....she cheated the first hour exam test as well.... It is just not fair
If you do not inform your instructors you are almost as guilty. They cannot be everywhere, cannot see everything.

As we used to say back in the dark ages:

Rat her out.

Hi -

Just curious if anyone else sees rampant cheating going on at their school. I witness it in my Chemistry class all the time.

Its so lame. Adults pulling out cheat sheets and writing answers and formulas on their desks.

I am taking A&P I next semsester and when i asked around for Professor recommendations people said, "oh, try to take so-and-so, everyone cheats and gets A's".

Ummm...kinda scary. Correct me if i'm wrong, but wouldnt a nurse actually need to know some of the things taught in A&P to be a good nurse?

Anyway, my school is an ultra-competitive community college - something like 2,200 students trying to get into 120 nursing spots. Perhaps that is what is driving lots of people to feel they have to cheat.

Anyway, was just curious.

This happens at my school too. I hate it because I bust my ass to study to make sure I get good grades honestly and then these people who don't try at all cheat and sometimes get better grades. It's so irritating. It happened a few weeks ago and a group of my classmates noticed two people blatantly cheating and some people wanted to bring it to the teachers attention, others didn't

I would hate to have a nurse who had no clue of the body. If I saw the people who cheated as my nurse I walk away immediately.

Happens quite often. Just today in fact. It's disheartening, frustrating, and MADDENING at times. The professor then spent 20 minutes of lecture time "dialoguing" with our class about how "overstressed" we were feeling and would we like for her to do anything for us? Someone requested dropping a quiz, others a detailed "study guide" for the final... She capitulated on these points.

Begin VENT********

So, now that those with failing grades have been saved by these remedial measures, I find myself wondering WHAT DO I GET? I know life's not fair. I earned my A straight up, no freebies required, and I wonder why profs don't think of the common good when they're blatantly lowering their standards. The reputation of the school, and my credentials to some extent, are degraded by graduating folks who don't know their Heparin from their Coumadin from their bums. It makes me feel ashamed to wear that round patch on my uniform some days. I am to the point that I can't wait to get out of college. I probably won't go to the pinning. I just can't stand my classmates or profs on days like this, and if they launch into some speech about ALL OF OUR HARD WORK, I may retch.

End VENT*********

That felt rather good. There's not really anyone in my class who wants to hear it. Thanks!

Specializes in Neuro.

I know how you feel Purple!! I have witnessed so many people cheating at my school, and I don't even start the nursing program until August! I saw a couple of girls in my math class last year with copies of all the instructor's tests, and they were asking who wanted to buy them for 20 dollars. About 6 people in that class wanted them, so they were making some money there. Needless to say, I talked to the instructor after class to let her know what was going on. Funny thing is, she uses the same type of tests, but changes the numbers, so it looks almost identical, but it isn't. She told me later that one of the girls didn't do so hot. Hmm, wonder why?!? Anyway, 1 of the girls got into the nursing program in January. The other one, I don't know about. Thing is, I WOULD NOT allow this person to ever work on me or my family after seeing her cheating. What really burns me up is that this same girl had the respect of the science instructors as being a "top" student. Why is it that these folks can go through life having it so easy when they are bums and cheat their way to the top? They have it so easy when us honest folks have to kill ourselves to make the good grades? I don't get it!!!

it will catch up to them!

I would hate to have a nurse who had no clue of the body. If I saw the people who cheated as my nurse I walk away immediately.
I would hate to have a nurse--or a lawyer, or a minister, or a physician, or a grocer or a friend--who had no integrity.

Cheating is stealing--they are taking what is not theirs.

What surprises me is that so few of those who know about cheating are willing to do something about it. I am one of the few--I do let instructors know. I do it quietly, I do it in a way that they can watch and see for themselves.

And for some reason I often feel guilty or as though I have done something wrong, even though I know I have not. I know I have done something very right and, to a certain extent, brave. It makes me wonder if part of our society's problem is that we object to so little and what we do find "wrong" we ignore.

There's a CW song with a line in it, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

And a common thought in situations where we are more directly mistreated is that we will continue to get as much as we do, because we do not do anything to stop it.

If we stand by and do nothing, we are accomplices after the fact.

Specializes in LTC/Skilled Care/Rehab.

I think there were a few people in my Gen Chem class that were cheating. I didn't see anyone cheating, but I did hear a lot of whispering during the test. And the ones I saw whispering were pre med. I don't know how they are going to pass med school if they can't pass Gen Chem without cheating.

And it bothers me when teachers allow students to use the bathroom during a test. One girl went to the bathroom several times during one test! I always go to the bathroom before a test so I don't have to go during.

Purple - I know how you feel. In my nutrition class, our first exam was easy - the class averaged an A, and I got 100. The second exam, however, was much harder. I got a 94, but the class average was 70%. What does my prof do? Offer a retake. Completely devalued my A, and now we get to drop our lowest test grade. I have 100, 94, and 100, and haven't studied at all for my final on Wed, because I'm dropping it. This just seems weird to me.

I also posted on this thread several months ago - I have honor, and if you're sitting next to me, you had better not cheat b/c I will report it. Rumors are a different animal though - if I only heard that someone was cheating, or that an old exam was going around, I wouldn't want to ruin someone's reputation over hearsay.

Specializes in Neuro.

Cheating is cheating, whether it is someone blatantly sitting there taking a test and using notes they have hidden or written on their desks or body, or using old tests and selling them. Even if it does have different numbers plugged in, it still shows the setup and gives the people what they need in order to better study, while the rest of us have to go in sight unseen and not really knowing what to expect. I never go to the instructor based on rumors, but seeing people with copies of tests before class selling them to other people IS cheating, and it is not right. Sure, I would love to see how a test is going to be set up, especially in classes where we don't get study guides to go by, but it is not worth me getting a zero or losing my integrity over it. I work hard for every grade that I get, and I refuse to go through my schooling sinking down to the levels of some of these people to try and get better grades. It just isn't worth it in the end when it really matters the most!

Like Chris said above, "...for some reason I often feel guilty or as though I have done something wrong, even though I know I have not..." I do feel guilty about mentioning it to the instructors, but I also know that I am doing right in my studying, and I have seen some instances where the whole class was punished for a few people cheating. Getting through school and the nursing program has not only cost me a ton of money and time, but this will be my livelyhood for the next however many years that I am able to work, and I'm not about to let a few people mess that up for me by them cheating their way through school.

I would hate to have a nurse--or a lawyer, or a minister, or a physician, or a grocer or a friend--who had no integrity.

Cheating is stealing--they are taking what is not theirs.

What surprises me is that so few of those who know about cheating are willing to do something about it. I am one of the few--I do let instructors know. I do it quietly, I do it in a way that they can watch and see for themselves.

And for some reason I often feel guilty or as though I have done something wrong, even though I know I have not. I know I have done something very right and, to a certain extent, brave. It makes me wonder if part of our society's problem is that we object to so little and what we do find "wrong" we ignore.

There's a CW song with a line in it, "if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything."

And a common thought in situations where we are more directly mistreated is that we will continue to get as much as we do, because we do not do anything to stop it.

If we stand by and do nothing, we are accomplices after the fact.

I have said something before. I sat waiting, thinking about what to do and I was so frustrated by it, I finally ended up saying something. I knew if I hadn't I would be bothered by it all weekend. It turns out that the teacher already knew, someone had already said something to her that class. It's pretty said when a group of people in a small class know you're cheating.

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