ajeanpants

Report it... anonymously if you have to. no one will know that it was you so you don't have to have the weight of that on your shoulders. It's simply ridiculous that they have to cheat on every single exam like this, and they may continue to do so through graduation. Is there anyone else in your class who disagrees with the cheating? Get together with them and report it together. Create an anonymous email address if you have to. If your prof doesn't do anything, see what the dean thinks. These are people who will be working a job where integrity means the difference between life and death at times. I hate the fact that people like you and me will be competing for jobs with people like this. Who knows? Maybe your prof will simply change the exam and then their cheating won't really matter.

I had a patient this year who unexpectedly had a bowel perf, sepsis, and almost died (many other complications that I won't go into). He had a healthy lifestyle, a beautiful family, and he was young. Recovery took a very long time and I'm sure it was some of the darkest times of his life. Yet he was a ray of sunshine in the hospital, keeping positive and hopeful and really encouraging lots of other patients. He said his nurses made all the difference, that he could tell when nurses cared or didn't care, and the ones that did care helped him get through this time in his life. Keep in mind that not every illness is your patient's own fault, sometimes their being sick really is just plain unfair, and whether or not it is the "way the world turns" your compassion (or lack thereof) can literally change someone's life. Nursing is a tough job... I can't imagine doing it without caring about the people that I'm providing care for.

As a nursing student, my boyfriend gets to hear me moan and groan about the work I have to do, how stressed I am, etc pretty frequently. The other day he told me "You know our friend who studies (some scientific research topic) at University of Michigan? Yeah, I thought YOU worked hard. You should hear what HE has to do!" We had a long discussion about his choice of words :) haha Another funny one! I had a friend who got in a fender bender, and she tends to be VERY overdramatic. She told me she needed to go to the ER because she thought she punctured her lung. I asked her how she was feeling... having any trouble breathing? She said "umm, nope! I can breathe fine!" Ohhhhhkay then.

The only way I can describe nursing school is as a roller coaster. This past year has taken everything out of me-- physically, emotionally, PSYCHOLOGICALLY (lol). But it is so worth it. You will look back at the end of each semester and see how far you've come and how much you have to be proud of yourself for. You may feel like you're completely losing it some days, but it gets better and if you have supportive people in your life it is an amazing experience. Take the good with the bad, let the little things roll off your back, and keep the big picture in mind :) You'll be studying meds, learning SO much about assessments and documentation and basic clinical skills, and also spending time in clinical. Good luck!

I sincerely appreciate everyone's input and I hope that it can help others if they are in a similar situation. I believe that I did the right thing. If my friend would not have come forward, I probably would have still spoke with the professor about it. As the rumor mill in my class has started up this week about the situation and as professors have begun to speak with my class about the issue, I have felt so peaceful and proud of myself to know that I acted with integrity. I would encourage anyone in the situation to do the same, not for just your/your class's/your professor's sake, but for the sake of your future patients and coworkers. This girl (or I!) could work with you or be your family member's nurse one day, and I am hopeful that my actions have helped to provide nurses who will act with integrity. I feel that my place in the situation is over, so I will not talk about it anymore because now it is just between my friend and the school. Have a great day! Good luck on finals everyone! :)

Amen! my first foley was on a pretty hefty lady, one of my fellow nursing students had to hold the light for me and my prof had to hold her in just the right position. It was an interesting experience Foley's can be uncomfortable for the patient, but usually at that point they are pretty uncomfortable from whatever else is wrong. Remind them to breathe, use lots of lube, and listen to tips from your clinical instructor. Trust me, it isn't too bad at all and it is nice to watch the patient's relief after their bladder begins to empty. Many patients have foley's, so you will probably get used to it pretty quickly. I have a severe fear of vomit (sometimes it can send me into panic attack mode, I am not kidding), and after being on the units and hearing the retching (and seeing it sometimes too), I'm already getting more used to it. We all have procedures/nursing duties we don't like, they can seem pretty barbaric after all, but we will get used to it and it really does help the patient in the long run!

I have been tossin and turning and praying about this and have been trying to see what is the best thing to do as a follower of Christ, as a future nurse, and as a friend. I talked to the person with the test info, told them the seriousness of the situation before the info could be passed around and blow up into a bigger problem (they did not even realize how serious this is... I know that's hard to believe but this person is very naive), and they will come clean without me even having to give the "Turn yourself in or I'll do it for you" ultimatum because they know that it is the right thing to do. Let me repeat that, this person is turning themself in regardless of the consequences because they recognize have made an error in judgement and compromised their character/integrity and want to do what is right. I hope that God honors their integrity as he has honored mine in what has been a pretty difficult situation but could have been way worse. I did talk to the prof but did not have to give names b/c the person confessed on their own. Watch who you associate with. Show me your friends and I'll show you your future.

Thanks for all the advice guys... lots to think about for sure and it helps to have outside perspective! I wish they would have never put me in this position, because it sucks. Choose your NS buddies wisely Another lesson learned

I have quite the dilemma here. We have a med-surg final coming up in a few weeks, and many of the questions will be from previous exams. I don't know about your schools, but my nursing school does alot to ensure that no one has written record of test questions (for example, during a test review we aren't allowed to take any notes, we never get tests back, etc). One girl has somehow obtained copies of all the previous exams and is talking about distributing them to our classmates. The problem is, everyone involved are very close friends of mine who have always had great character and integrity and I am completely shocked they are doing this. There are tons of people who need to ace the final in order to even pass the class, but not these people. It is so unfair to those whose grades are hanging in the balance and it is just plain wrong. I'm afraid that if I tell the prof they will get in big trouble, and I'm the only person who knows about this who isn't participating, so I will lose many close friends. Any advice?

I have to keep good grades to keep scholarships, so I'm thankful for my B :) I'm not sure... the only HESI I took at the beginning was a critical thinking test. That was very easy and didn't really count for anything, but I'm not sure if its the same as the entrance exam? The subject exams are more difficult in my opinion... I've heard that you can't really study much for the HESI exams; there is so much information you could be tested over. Just read the questions thoroughly and stay calm. I was much calmer the second time and I think that made the difference! Good luck!

I didn't pass my pharm HESI the first time around, so I had to remediate and retest before I could begin the next semester. This exam was going to make the difference between a B and C in the class, but I just couldn't bring myself to study much over Christmas! I went into the exam, prayed, and thought "If I know it, I know it, but I'm not gonna stress" And I got an 851! Ah! Happy day! That just goes to show that we really do retain so much of the information in nursing school, which hasn't always been the case in my other college studies :) Good luck with the next semester everyone!

Thank you so much for your replies! You have no idea how helpful it is! CuriousMe, I have not yet narrowed down exactly where I want to work. I am very interested in research and am also thinking about teaching as a long-term goal. I know that I will be getting my master's degree at some point, I'm just not quite sure where I'll focus my studies yet. The only way I can see it helping is if 1) the field of nursing continues to be so competitive for new grads and 2) when I'm applying for grad schools, it might look good.

Hola! I am mulling some things over my head and would love to hear your opinions! I am currently enrolled at a private university which has an affiliation agreement with a local nursing school where if I take classes here in addition to all of the nursing classes at the NS, I can graduate with my BSN (from the nursing school) and a major in healthcare from the university. Additionally, I will have a minor in Biology from the university by the time I graduate. Unfortunately, it is so expensive and alot more work! If I were to just attend the nursing school, I would probably save almost half in tuition (I am paying about $8000/semester now and it would cost me around $4000 or $5000 per semester at the NS), but I would only receive a BSN. I still have two years left of school after this year. As I'm weighing my pros and cons, I would be interested to hear your opinions on whether the extra major and minor will give me a competitive edge upon graduation (and even in the future as I apply for master's programs)... or am I just wasting my $$ Thanks!

For many textbooks, the first sentence or two of a paragraph and the last one or two sentences will summarize the info in the paragraph. One strategy I used back when I was a biochem major was to read those sentences and then skim the stuff in between, because the in-between sentences usually elaborate on the topic of the paragraph. It helps the reading to go by faster while still reading most of the material, if that's a strategy that works for you...

I've always felt that I am sort of a nuisance to professors and employers when I ask for those recommendation letters for all these different scholarships. Has anyone else felt that way? And I second mariposabella's question.. did you use fastweb?