Academic dishonesty is defined as ‘intended participation in dishonest practices regarding one's academic work or the work of another’. It includes plagiarism, fabrication and cheating. There has found to be many ways for students to conduct these acts of dishonesty without them knowing what the consequences are. These students should know and understand the academic integrity rules of their university and the importance of being honest. Academic integrity is the moral code or ethical policy of university that every student should abide by and demonstrate. This essay will outline academic honesty and integrity, the importance for nursing students to demonstrate the act, techniques used and why they do it, and how to detect it. There are many different ways for university students to find a way of academic dishonesty. It has been found that 75% to 90% of nursing students that were surveyed claim they have participated in some form of academic dishonesty during their academic program of study such as dishonesty on an examination, plagiarism, sharing work in a group, and in clinical practice. There are many ways for these students to perform academic dishonesty such as; looking at anthers paper, going to the bathroom during examination to look at notes kept in their clothing or on their phone, or the use of forbidden materials. (Faucher & Caves, 2009) Students also act on this dishonesty by doing work in groups, where a student may make use of the group work or copy anthers work and claim it as their own. Students may also ask for a friend to write their paper for them and submit that as their own work too. It’s important to understand that those who cheat appear to lack the key attributes required by the nursing profession, which ... ... middle of paper ... ...tructed by students in their education and the behaviour used whilst creating their papers, reveals potential behavioural patterns that may follow on into their work profession. (Coffey & Anyinam, 2012) Therefore, if a student was to be academically dishonest, these patterns may find a way into their lives beyond schooling and become apparent in their profession, and according to many organisations, that is beyond their ethical conduct. It’s mandatory for nursing students to be of good and true character. As a requirement for registration as a nurse, the Nursing and Midwifery Council require students to be of good character. Students that are of good character are capable of safe and effective practice. (Sellman, 2007) To have successfulness practice, it’s important to be honest and follow the moral codes. This way, one would gain trust from patients and colleagues.
Great discussion on plagiarism! I like that you included creating documents with your own knowledge to avoid plagiarism. This reminded me of how some nurses copy other nurses documentation of a patient. This is a great example of how academic dishonesty can lead to nursing dishonesty. If you are copying someone's paper work on a patient, this is nursing dishonesty and can lead to a person losing their job. More importantly, this person is creating fraudulent documentation, much like plagiarism. This nurse is taking someone's work and passing it as their own. If a nurse or a student can create their own views and thoughts, academic and nursing integrity can be
My desire to become a nurse is deeply-rooted in my aspiration to contribute to the well-being and improvement of the less privileged as well as my own personal ethical stance. My decision was made easy by the professional code of ethics of nursing, which correspond with my personal beliefs. One of my personal values that have shaped me into who I am today is honesty. It is important to provide patients with accurate information on procedures, diagnosis, treatment options, and possible outcomes. Although I am fallible, it is imperative to acknowledge and take responsibility of my own mistakes. These personal qualities would help propel me into my professional career.
The main points of provision five of the ANA code of ethics are as follows: section 5.1, which is moral self-respect, suggests that nurses must care for themselves as much as they care for their patients. Nurses must do their best to maintain professional respect to themselves in regards of their competence and moral character. Section 5.2, which is professional growth and maintenance of competence, suggests that nurses must continue to self and peer evaluate themselves throughout their careers. Nurses must continue to learn current, up to date nursing practices through self, peer, and higher education. Section 5.3, which is wholeness of character, suggests that nurses must develop and take into consideration their own moral perspectives when practicing in their careers. Nurses are encouraged to express their moral viewpoint when it is helpful to the recovery of their patients, but must never express moral beliefs based on social stigmas that could negatively affect patient outcomes.
That stomach churning feeling of guilt for many seems to appear as a small price to pay when completing an act of academic dishonesty. Colleen Wenke wrote an essay on cheating eighteen years ago called “Too Much Pressure”. In the past fifty years, the number of students who admit to cheating has increased fifty to seventy percent(Gaffe). Many people wonder what leads the students to make this unjust decision. Today, the reason for a rise in cheaters is because of how easy it has become, leading many students to the false conclusion that they aren’t breaking any rules; It is simply viewed as a shortcut to success in the classroom and beyond.
Laabs, C. (2011). Perception of moral integrity: contractions in need of explanation. Nursing Ethics, 18(3). doi: 10.1177/0969733011398101
All the above examples are reflective of a concept called academic integrity. This essay will be discussed two questions based around the general topic of ‘Academic Integrity’ in assignment completed by undergraduate students. The two questions to be discussed are what are the meaning of ‘Academic Integrity’? What is the important of ‘Academic Integrity’ in assignment completed by undergraduate students?
NSNA (2003). Code of ethics for nursing students Part I: Code of professional conduct. Retrieved June26, 2011, from: http//www.nsnsa.orgpdf/pubs_CodeofProfessionalConduct.pdf
The Code of Ethics is an important document that outlines the mission and values of the organization and also guides the professionals in making ethical decisions. “It serves as a means of self-evaluation and self-reflection regarding ethical nursing practice and provides the basis for feedback and peer review” (CNA, 2008). Furthermore, it serves as the basis from which nurses can advocates for quality work environment that supports the delivery of safe, compassionate, competent and ethical care (CNA, 2008). A code of ethics also may be designated as a code of professional responsibility which will discuss difficult issues, difficult decisions that will often need to be made and provide a clear accounts of what behavior is considered “ethical” or “correct” or “right” in a given circumstance. If a nurse fails to comply with the Code of Ethics, it can result in expulsion from the professional organization (ethical violation). In order to highlight the importance of how Code of Ethics impacts the nursing practice as on-going effect present in contemporary practice, in particular amongst registered nurses, the background of
Academic integrity has been a major concern among many colleges and universities across the world. Many people may ask the question: what is academic integrity? University of Missouri’s Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities (n.d.) states, “Academic integrity is the core set of values and principles that underwrites the very mission of the University itself; integrity, honesty, hard work, and the determination to translate personal and professional principles into behavior.” Some also may view academic integrity as the act of sustaining honest and rightful behavior in an academic setting that avoids, prevent and provide disciplinary actions for those who commits academic dishonesty, plagiarism and cheating of any kind. Majority of college and universities in all disciplines has academic ethics and honesty policies for all students regardless of their academic statues as undergraduate or graduate students. For example, Webster University’s Statement of Ethics (n.d.) for both graduate and undergraduate programs says, “Those who elect to partici...
Honesty and integrity are two major core Catholic and humanist values that many students in modern times seem to lack. According to Merriam-Webster Dictionary, honesty is defined as "the quality of being fair and truthful." Honesty plays a huge role in our society and daily lives. Honesty is a key characteristic that makes up a person, and defines who they truly are. Usually, if a person is very honest, which according to Merriam-Webster Dictionary means, “the quality of being honest and fair.” As you can see, the definition of honesty and integrity go hand in hand. Just as Spencer Johnson tells us, “Integrity is telling myself the truth. And honesty is telling the truth to other people.” Without honesty, there is absolutely no integrity. In the past few years, many major corporations conducted tests to determine how much of the world’s population was considered, “honest.” WalletTest.com conducted an experiment in which one hundred wallets were left on the streets on purpose, filled with a good amount of cash, and a picture identification card to explicitly show who the wallet belonged to. Of those one hundred wallets, seventy four of them were returned and twenty six were not. The sample of people they used were of mixed gender, age, and race, giving a good testing sample. The results were good, showing that most people were honest, and the honest people outnumbered the dishonest people nearly three to one. Honesty and integrity does not only play a large role in daily life situations, however. Honesty and integrity play a large role in academics in different levels of expertise: Elementary, High School, and College.
Academic knowledge is the basis on which future prosperity, and financial security has been determined. As a consequence, students feel inclined to perform above average in school. Now, as students perform less and less, they sink to obtain good grades by cheating. This method to acquire the desired grades will only harm the student, instead of the imagined result. Prompted by a child’s inability to perform basic tasks throughout his education , academic cheating spawns numerous negative consequences.
Academic integrity is defined as the moral code or ethical policy of academia. With all morals and regulations, it is easy to fall short of them sometimes. This is primarily evident in the education system. Cheating is an often broken rule of academic integrity. The struggle to maintain academic integrity throughout college students has been an ongoing battle between cheating versus honesty, habitual repeat offenders versus commitment to integrity, and collusion versus cooperation.
Cheating on academic work is a serious issue that most students admit to doing at some point in their academic career. Elite students are surprisingly the culprits of cheating, but hide it well. (Romm, para 5) Cheating is such a large issue that “70% of students from a sample of 1,800 from nine campuses said they had cheated at least once during their college careers.” (Schneider, para 9) Students cheat on academic work because of different, ongoing pressures in their lives. Understanding the student’s motives and pressures are essential to preventing cheating from occurring in the future. Students cheat for different reasons specific to them regarding their priorities, pressures and because of how easy it has become. Even though eliminating cheating will not happen, there are actions that educational professionals can and should take to prevent most of it from happening so often. Therefor cheating problems are minimized and have a positive impact on the student’s education and understanding of concepts.
Modern students face many pressures for academic success. They are often unwilling to disappoint their parents or spouses. Some fear that not cheating will weaken a student’s ability to compete with their peers. They rationalize their unethical behavior, unwilling to accept a poor grade, consequently justifying cheating as the only means to that end.
As students of high school and college, and even in the professional world, we are asked to research and write on subjects that are seen to be important. The research that we are asked to do, has been done many times in the past, which means people are bound to use others’ ideas and words with no recognition, sometimes without even knowing it. This leads to plagiarism, which is something many people have heard of, but never learned the true definition and the harm it can create. Schools and society need to be more proactive in explaining what plagiarism is, how to write correctly in order to prevent it, and teach the consequences plagiarism has.