Cheating in Nursing School

Nursing is a profession of honesty and accountability. In nursing school we learn the “Code of Ethics” for nurses and are constantly reminded to “do good” and “do no harm.” So how can a nursing student cheat after all of this?

When I was in nursing school there were a few students who would get together and “study” when we all knew that they were cheating on their homework. Those same students would call in “sick” on test days when we all knew they just were not prepared to take the test. As frustrating as this was to watch, we all hoped that at some point they would get a reality check. They did. Two of them failed a semester and had to start over, and the other student did not pass state boards.

Luckily these days with the advancement of technology and online testing, it seems impossible to cheat on a test – but we all know that people find a way to overcome that. It seems every year there is a new news article that talks about students overcoming the technology or finding a way to cheat on state boards. A major theme several years ago included students paying friends to take their nursing boards for them. Now, with the addition of fingerprinting and better identification at test centers, the chances of this happening again are near non-existent.

So what do you do when you notice a student cheating? Do you confront the student? Or let your instructors know? In my case I did neither and let the situation work itself out. Do you think there is a better approach than this?

Thanks for your thoughts!