this seems like a good topic to post. i was taking a very difficult exam today and two people who were obviously cheating were doing so within earshot of me and others. so, i told them to stop for two reasons.
one, i could see that they were not going to stop themselves. they were engrossed in going from one question to the next without slowing down. in addition, the exam was long and there would be no way those of us around them would be able to concentrate with their constant "what did you get for...?" questions.
the second reason i stopped them was because i am an instructor/professor (not of this class) and it is my professional ethical obligation to stop cheaters and report the students i catch cheating. besides that, cheating is my number one pet peeve! :angryfire i have more respect for students that flat out take an "f" for being unprepared and who later ask for help then those who cheat and think they will learn the information later!
some of you are like me and already have a professional code of ethics you must follow so i would be interested in hearing what you think. i am also wondering what students who are not bound by codes of ethics would honestly do because i have heard different responses from those i know. most have said that they would mind his/her own business if it was not going to effect him/her negatively. so, i think this will be an interesting conversation.
my question to this group of future nurses (and current nurses) is what would you do or have you done in a similar situation? what's your take/spin ladies and gents?
I would definately tell. Let me tell you why. Last semester at my school, apparantly some students in the graduating class got caught (allegedly sp?) cheating. I am not sure if anything was ever proven you know rumor control. Anyways...what I do know to be fact is they all had to retake exams and could not graduate on time. They are just doing it this week in fact. I worked too flippin hard to get where I am. I will not let someone else ruin it for me! Everyone in my class has already stated out loud..if I hear you are cheating I will tell....we are graduating in Aug.
Now when we take exams...we have to leave our bags and everything at the front of the class..you can not have anything around you except your calculator and 2 pencils, you are not allowed to get up and leave when you are done with your exam you must sit and wait for it to be over, you are not allowed to touch your bags or anything until after break and after the test has been reviewed.
It is sad really. How do they think they are going to pass their boards? There is no way to cheat there. And what happens when they get a patient in an emergent situation? How do they plan to treat them and make sure they are keeping that patient safe? Really upsets me to think that people try to cheat their way through nursing school. What if a family member runs into trouble and they are the only person there to help them out? Then what?
Sorry for this posting being so long. Guess it was a response as well as a vent. Have a great day!
this seems like a good topic to post. i was taking a very difficult exam today and two people who were obviously cheating were doing so within earshot of me and others. so, i told them to stop for two reasons.
one, i could see that they were not going to stop themselves. they were engrossed in going from one question to the next without slowing down. in addition, the exam was long and there would be no way those of us around them would be able to concentrate with their constant "what did you get for...?" questions.
the second reason i stopped them was because i am an instructor/professor (not of this class) and it is my professional ethical obligation to stop cheaters and report the students i catch cheating. besides that, cheating is my number one pet peeve! :angryfire i have more respect for students that flat out take an "f" for being unprepared and who later ask for help then those who cheat and think they will learn the information later!
some of you are like me and already have a professional code of ethics you must follow so i would be interested in hearing what you think. i am also wondering what students who are not bound by codes of ethics would honestly do because i have heard different responses from those i know. most have said that they would mind his/her own business if it was not going to effect him/her negatively. so, i think this will be an interesting conversation.
my question to this group of future nurses (and current nurses) is what would you do or have you done in a similar situation? what's your take/spin ladies and gents?
good for you! i would also stop them. one, it irks me because there are people who work hard for their grades, me included, and people who cheat are also cheating the way the nursing program system works. two, they disrupting the class with their flagrant breach of morality. three, if they are cheating their way through school they are cheating their patients of a competent nurse(if they pass the boards that is). one question- where the heck was the professor?
I honestly don't know what I would do in that situation as I have thankfully never been there! I think it would depend on a lot of factors, like would the cheater blame me for his/her misfortune and punish me in some way or become dangerous? I have a weird way of bringing out the best in people like that! People who will cheat are capable of who knows what and where will they stop to get what they want?!? Obviously their boundaries and ethics are pretty flimsy.
I was aware of a guy who passed in a term paper off the net and did let the instructor know that maybe she wanted google the first few sentences or even the title as that was not changed either! How dumb can an idiot get!
I personally could never live with myself if I cheated! If I can't pass a test myself then I have no business doing what I am doing and may as well never even enter into the nursing program which is much more greuleing than what I am doing now!! Funny because my A & P instructor allows us to have a cheat sheet and I still feel like I am doing something wrong!! It would just violate every single thing I stand for.
In our nursing or pre-nursing classes, anyone cheating and caught is notified by the RN entry committee and basically removed from the opportunity of applying. This is not a career choice that can be "faked". You need to know the information in order to protect your patients from you mistakes!!!
I certainly would not want someone who did not know the info touching me or administering any drugs to me. Good for you for standing up to them! They don't deserve to be there.
I don't know what the policy is at your school... but where I got my undergrad, if you witness or know about cheating, you can also get in trouble for toleration... which has the potential of getting you kicked out (or, at the very least, extremely miserable). There was a basic protocol that you're supposed to follow:
First, you need to directly speak to the party responsible for cheating (in your case, both), inform them about what you saw, and ask if your suspicions were correct. If they were, in fact, cheating, you're supposed to give them a chance to self-report themselves; additionally, you should inform them that if they do NOT self-report themselves, you are responsible for reporting their act yourself (otherwise, you will also get in trouble).
I'm not quite sure how it works for other schools.. I hope I never get into that situation. When I took the CNA test at the local red cross, the girl sitting next to me kept on bugging me to answer questions for her, but I refused to acknowledge anything she said... In a way, that pissed me off. She was basically risking getting me kicked out for cheating because she didn't feel confident in her ability to finish the test. If she had asked me to help her before the test, I would have been more than happy to help her out... I offered my help to classmates before... but during a test? Especially when it costs money and you get kicked out for cheating? It was pretty selfish and inconsiderate of her to ask me to help her cheat.
Specializes in Happily semi-retired; excited for the whole whammy.
I don't know what the policy is at your school... but where I got my undergrad, if you witness or know about cheating, you can also get in trouble for toleration... which has the potential of getting you kicked out (or, at the very least, extremely miserable). There was a basic protocol that you're supposed to follow:
First, you need to directly speak to the party responsible for cheating (in your case, both), inform them about what you saw, and ask if your suspicions were correct. If they were, in fact, cheating, you're supposed to give them a chance to self-report themselves; additionally, you should inform them that if they do NOT self-report themselves, you are responsible for reporting their act yourself (otherwise, you will also get in trouble).
I'm not quite sure how it works for other schools.. I hope I never get into that situation. When I took the CNA test at the local red cross, the girl sitting next to me kept on bugging me to answer questions for her, but I refused to acknowledge anything she said... In a way, that pissed me off. She was basically risking getting me kicked out for cheating because she didn't feel confident in her ability to finish the test. If she had asked me to help her before the test, I would have been more than happy to help her out... I offered my help to classmates before... but during a test? Especially when it costs money and you get kicked out for cheating? It was pretty selfish and inconsiderate of her to ask me to help her cheat.
Is this protocol in writing? It sounds like a terrible idea to me, on a couple of levels. First, it opens you up to retaliation if the cheater is so inclined. If other students are obliged to do the instructors' jobs for them and root out cheating, at the very least there should be a way to do so anonymously. Second, how on earth do you prove that you've spoken to the person first? Something tells me that they'll be disinclined to confirm your story, once they're caught and they know it was you who reported them.
Cheaters are people who want others to do their work for them, but want the credit for doing it. People who cheat don't generally do it once or twice, but they are habitual in their cheating.
The easiest thing to do is to approach the instructor and say, "you might want to keep your eye on this person when the next exam is given". That is enough information for the teacher/instructor to get the hint and to do a bit of hovering over the student(s). I've seen this work a few times.
Not only should the cheaters be gone, but those who know about this and do not report it should be gone just as fast. You have an obligation to report just as you will with someone who committs child abuse or some other crime when you are an RN.
Specializes in ED, ICU, MS/MT, PCU, CM, House Sup, Frontline mgr.
in our nursing or pre-nursing classes, anyone cheating and caught is notified by the rn entry committee and basically removed from the opportunity of applying. this is not a career choice that can be "faked". you need to know the information in order to protect your patients from you mistakes!!!
i certainly would not want someone who did not know the info touching me or administering any drugs to me. good for you for standing up to them! they don't deserve to be there.
that sounds like an interesting policy. your nursing program sounds like it is no joke!
i have not read anything in writing that my school's nursing program does before admissions. but they have policies that goes into effect once one is accepted.
AuntieRN
678 Posts
I would definately tell. Let me tell you why. Last semester at my school, apparantly some students in the graduating class got caught (allegedly sp?) cheating. I am not sure if anything was ever proven you know rumor control. Anyways...what I do know to be fact is they all had to retake exams and could not graduate on time. They are just doing it this week in fact. I worked too flippin hard to get where I am. I will not let someone else ruin it for me! Everyone in my class has already stated out loud..if I hear you are cheating I will tell....we are graduating in Aug.
Now when we take exams...we have to leave our bags and everything at the front of the class..you can not have anything around you except your calculator and 2 pencils, you are not allowed to get up and leave when you are done with your exam you must sit and wait for it to be over, you are not allowed to touch your bags or anything until after break and after the test has been reviewed.
It is sad really. How do they think they are going to pass their boards? There is no way to cheat there. And what happens when they get a patient in an emergent situation? How do they plan to treat them and make sure they are keeping that patient safe? Really upsets me to think that people try to cheat their way through nursing school. What if a family member runs into trouble and they are the only person there to help them out? Then what?
Sorry for this posting being so long. Guess it was a response as well as a vent. Have a great day!