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Journal ArticleDOI

Perceptions of academic integrity among nursing students.

01 Oct 2012-Nursing Forum (Nurs Forum)-Vol. 47, Iss: 4, pp 253-259
TL;DR: Fostering culture change through strategies that target students, faculty, and systems are recommended, including peer mentoring, role modeling integrity, enhancing awareness of what constitutes cheating, and developing policies that promote honesty.
Abstract: Purpose Academic dishonesty is growing among nursing students. Reasons for this growth can be categorized into student, faculty, and system factors. Nursing faculty designed a study to explore this problem. Conclusions We identified three themes: characteristics of students with academic integrity, patient safety, and professional outcomes. Exploring student perceptions of academic integrity can help faculty design measures to prevent dishonesty in these three areas. Practice Implications We recommend fostering culture change through strategies that target students, faculty, and systems. These strategies include peer mentoring, role modeling integrity, enhancing awareness of what constitutes cheating, and developing policies that promote honesty.
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: It is concluded that an educational intervention can increase knowledge and awareness of plagiarism among nursing students.

41 citations


Cites background from "Perceptions of academic integrity a..."

  • ...Woith et al. (2012) found that nursing students could define and recognise broad characteristics of someone with academic integrity, for example, trustworthiness; however there appears to be confusion regarding the understanding of what constitutes various forms of cheating....

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  • ...These results demonstrate the importance of educating students about academic integrity and how to avoid plagiarism, particularly in preparing to practice in a profession such as nursing where a lack of ethics and honesty could impact on patient safety and patient care outcomes (Woith et al, 2012)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The findings of this study support existing literature that refutes the assumption that the nobility of these disciplines would result in a lower incidence of cheating behaviours and found troubling rates of academic and professional misconduct among the surveyed population.

39 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: This systematic literature review aims to describe perceptions of students and members of faculty regarding incivility in nursing education, and identifies and discusses gaps in the literature and the need for future studies.

37 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The current punitive approach to plagiarism within nursing faculties has not reduced its occurrence and a need to promote awareness, knowledge and provide students with the appropriate referencing skills, to reduce the significant amount of inadvertent plagiarism.
Abstract: Aims and objectives To identify the prevalence and antecedents of plagiarism within nursing education and approaches to prevention and management. Background There has been growing media attention highlighting the prevalence of plagiarism in universities, including the academic integrity of undergraduate nursing students. A breach of academic integrity among nursing students also raises further concern with the potential transfer of this dishonest behaviour to the clinical setting. Design Integrative review. Methods A systematic search of five electronic databases including CINAHL, MEDLINE, SCOPUS, ProQuest Nursing & Allied Health Source, and ERIC was undertaken. Only primary studies related to plagiarism and nursing students (undergraduate or postgraduate) studying at a tertiary education institution or nursing faculty were included. Both qualitative and quantitative study designs were included. Results Twenty studies were included in this review with six key themes identified: (1) prevalence; (2) knowledge, understanding and attitudes; (3) types of plagiarism; (4) antecedents to plagiarism; (5) interventions to reduce or prevent plagiarism; and (6) the relationship between academic honesty and professional integrity. Plagiarism is common among university nursing students, with a difference in perception of this behaviour between students and academics. The review also highlighted the importance of distinguishing between inadvertent and deliberate plagiarism, with differing strategies suggested to address this behaviour. Nevertheless, interventions to reduce plagiarism have not been shown to be effective. Conclusions The current punitive approach to plagiarism within nursing faculties has not reduced its occurrence. There is a need to promote awareness, knowledge and provide students with the appropriate referencing skills, to reduce the significant amount of inadvertent plagiarism. Relevance to clinical practice The importance of promoting honesty and academic integrity in nursing education is highlighted. Cheating within the academic setting has been associated with dishonesty in the clinical setting, which highlights the importance of nurturing a culture of honesty and integrity at university.

33 citations


Cites background from "Perceptions of academic integrity a..."

  • ...In a mixed-methods study undertaken by Woith et al. (2012), the authors found that participants believed that there were occasions when cheating was acceptable....

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  • ...Four papers reported on two studies (Arhin 2009, Arhin & Jones 2009, Woith et al. 2012, 2013)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The tendency of academic dishonesty was lower among students who use Internet and library more frequently and for students using a library while doing their homework, which is consistent with previous studies.
Abstract: Background:Academic dishonesty has become a serious problem at institutions of higher learning.Research question:What is the frequency of academic dishonesty and what factors affect the tendency of dishonesty among Turkish health science school students?Research design:This descriptive and cross-sectional study aims to evaluate academic dishonesty among university nursing, midwifery, and dietetic students.Participants and research context:The study sample consisted of 499 health science students in Turkey. The tendency toward academic dishonesty was investigated using the Academic Dishonesty Tendency Scale.Ethical considerations:Institutional review board approved the study. Written permission was obtained from the researcher to use Turkish version of the Academic Dishonesty Tendency Scale.Findings:Of all the students, 80.0% claimed to refer to Internet during homework preparation and 49.1% of students reported to cite the references at the end of article on some instances. Of the students, 56.1% claimed ...

33 citations


Cites background from "Perceptions of academic integrity a..."

  • ...Educators are supposed to provide an academic environment that diminishes opportunities for dishonesty, supports the moral development of students, and resumes the high moral standards of the nursing profession.(4,6,19) The International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI)(20) defines academic integrity as ‘‘a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility’’ and adds an additional element: the quality of courage....

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  • ...The environment created by the faculty may also contribute to the rise of academic dishonesty.(6) For example, as health sciences are becoming increasingly complex and faculty expects students to master more content within a fixed program, academic dishonesty behavior may become more pronounced....

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  • ...This may predispose them toward academic dishonesty and force them to display dishonest behaviors.(6,39) Our literature review revealed a gap in work related to midwifery and nutrition-dietetics students’ tendency toward academic dishonesty....

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  • ...Woith et al.6 stressed that there was a shift in nursing students’ perception of academic integrity and that students have started to consider academic dishonesty as normal....

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  • ...For example, as health sciences are becoming increasingly complex and faculty expects students to master more content within a fixed program, academic dishonesty behavior may become more pronounced.(6) Academic dishonesty is not a new phenomenon; however, today it is occurring at an increasing rate....

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References
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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Data from this cross-sectional ecologic study support the notion that income inequality leads to increased mortality via disinvestment in social capital.
Abstract: OBJECTIVES: Recent studies have demonstrated that income inequality is related to mortality rates. It was hypothesized, in this study, that income inequality is related to reduction in social cohesion and that disinvestment in social capital is in turn associated with increased mortality. METHODS: In this cross-sectional ecologic study based on data from 39 states, social capital was measured by weighted responses to two items from the General Social Survey: per capita density of membership in voluntary groups in each state and level of social trust, as gauged by the proportion of residents in each state who believed that people could be trusted. Age-standardized total and cause-specific mortality rates in 1990 were obtained for each state. RESULTS: Income inequality was strongly correlated with both per capita group membership (r = -.46) and lack of social trust (r = .76). In turn, both social trust and group membership were associated with total mortality, as well as rates of death from coronary heart d...

3,155 citations


"Perceptions of academic integrity a..." refers background or methods or result in this paper

  • ...Furthermore, schools of nursing are becoming increasingly competitive, and students are under pressure to maintain high grades (Kolanko et al., 2007; Roberson, 2009)....

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  • ...Academic experience should prepare students for professional practice (Kolanko et al., 2007), and cheating undoubtedly interferes with the education of new nurses (Yardley et al., 2009)....

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  • ...Nurse educators, as gatekeepers to the profession, place emphasis on excellence in student performance (Kolanko et al., 2007; Tippitt et al., 2009)....

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  • ...High-tech cheating included purchasing copies of examinations online, texting answers, using handheld devices to access the Internet, and using small cameras or camera phones to take pictures of examination pages (Arhin, 2009; Harper, 2006; Kolanko et al., 2007; Langone, 2007)....

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  • ...…of other disciplines (Lovett-Hooper, Komarraju, Weston, & Dollinger, 2007; Martin, Rao, & Sloan, 2009; Yardley, Rodriguez, Bates, & Nelson, 2009), little research has been conducted on dishonesty in nursing education (Baxter & Boblin, 2007; Harper, 2006; Kolanko et al., 2007; Tippitt et al., 2009)....

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: In August 2010, AACN conducted an online survey of nursing schools offering baccalaureate and graduate programs in the U.S. to better assess the experience of new graduates in finding employment during these recessionary times.
Abstract: In August 2010, AACN conducted an online survey of nursing schools offering baccalaureate and graduate programs in the U.S. to better assess the experience of new graduates in finding employment during these recessionary times. A brief online survey was developed to solicit information from 802 deans of nursing schools offering baccalaureate and graduate programs. A total of 516 valid responses was received, generating a 64.3% response rate.

2,933 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: Emp empirical data supports the conclusion that cheating is a significant issue in all disciplines today, including nursing, and some preliminary policy implications are considered.
Abstract: Academic dishonesty, whether in the form of plagiarism or cheating on tests, has received renewed attention in the past few decades as pervasive use of the Internet and a presumed deterioration of ethics in the current generation of students has led some, perhaps many, to conclude that academic dishonesty is reaching epidemic proportions. What is lacking in many cases, including in the nursing profession, is empirical support of these trends. This article attempts to provide some of that empirical data and supports the conclusion that cheating is a significant issue in all disciplines today, including nursing. Some preliminary policy implications are also considered.

147 citations


"Perceptions of academic integrity a..." refers background or result in this paper

  • ...nursing profession (McCabe, 2009), or to heightened time pressures inherent in accelerated programs, or both....

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  • ...The incidence of academic dishonesty is increasing among college students (Arhin, 2009; Fontana, 2009; Harper, 2006; McCabe, 2009; Tippitt et al., 2009)....

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  • ...Nursing faculty have endorsed assigning seats, moving seats further apart during examinations, using multiple test forms, having students leave belongings at the front of the room, and using at least two proctors who walk around the room, as useful practices in preventing cheating (Arhin, 2009; Kolanko et al., 2007; McCabe, 2009; Roberson, 2009; Tippitt et al., 2009)....

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  • ...This may be related to inadequate time for socialization into the 254 © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc Nursing Forum Volume 47, No. 4, October-December 2012 nursing profession (McCabe, 2009), or to heightened time pressures inherent in accelerated programs, or both....

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  • ...Gresley, 2009), and from 58% to 94% of nursing students (McCabe, 2009; Roberson, 2009), reported that they or their peers had engaged in academic dis-...

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Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: To prevent deskilling, Registered Nurses should continue to practise and refresh all the different types of drug calculations as often as possible with regular (self-testing of their ability) with regular practice and assessment.
Abstract: Title. Patient safety: numerical skills and drug calculation abilities of nursing students and Registered Nurses. Aim. This paper is a report of a correlational study of the relations of age, status, experience and drug calculation ability to numerical ability of nursing students and Registered Nurses. Background. Competent numerical and drug calculation skills are essential for nurses as mistakes can put patients’ lives at risk. Method. A cross-sectional study was carried out in 2006 in one United Kingdom university. Validated numerical and drug calculation tests were given to 229 second year nursing students and 44 Registered Nurses attending a non-medical prescribing programme. Results. The numeracy test was failed by 55% of students and 45% of Registered Nurses, while 92% of students and 89% of nurses failed the drug calculation test. Independent of status or experience, older participants (‡35 years) were statistically significantly more able to perform numerical calculations. There was no statistically significant difference between nursing students and Registered Nurses in their overall drug calculation ability, but nurses were statistically significantly more able than students to perform basic numerical calculations and calculations for solids, oral liquids and injections. Both nursing students and Registered Nurses were statistically significantly more able to perform calculations for solids, liquid oral and injections than calculations for drug percentages, drip and infusion rates. Conclusion. To prevent deskilling, Registered Nurses should continue to practise and refresh all the different types of drug calculations as often as possible with regular (self)-testing of their ability. Time should be set aside in curricula for nursing students to learn how to perform basic numerical and drug calculations. This learning should be reinforced through regular practice and assessment.

141 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: The most frequent unethical clinical behaviors found were: discussing patients in public places or with nonmedical personnel; taking hospital equipment for use at home; and recording that medications, treatments, observations, or home visits were performed when they were not.
Abstract: Prior to the NLN Education Summit 2005, the authors took part in a conference call to discuss some of the difficulties and challenges faced by faculty in schools of nursing. Familiar with the growing body of published work on troublesome behaviors in American schools and the workplace, we determined to use a panel discussion format to explore the nature of these difficulties and capture the meanings these experiences have for the individuals involved. By sharing personal experiences and presenting a review of the literature, we hoped to give voice to troublesome and sometimes painful aspects of our roles as educators. * In our vision for the panel discussion and this article, our desire was to be part of the solution. Our goal is to explore these experiences in a way that encourages self-reflection, teaches acceptable behavior, and supports positive change in the educational environment. We hope to promote opportunities for all involved in nursing education - students, faculty, and administrators - to grow and flourish. * This article follows the sequence of the panel presentation, which began with a comprehensive review of the literature on academic dishonesty, followed by a discussion of low-and high-tech forms of cheating used by students. We addressed the need to process social information correctly and develop positive and acceptable social skills needed for professional development, and we discussed bullying, issues of incivility among faculty members, and the troublesome practice known as "mean girl games." Our names are presented alongside our contributions, but all of us answered questions and participated in the lively discussion that took place at the Summit. Academic Dishonesty Joanne Parley Serembus Long part of academic life, academic dishonesty has been defined as "intentional participation in deceptive practices regarding one's academic work or the work of another" (1). As many as 70 to 95 percent of students have been reported to have engaged in such practices (2-4). Some have suggested that academic dishonesty arises from a deterioration of morals as documented over the past decade by the Josephson Institute (5). As nurse educators, we are responsible for providing curricula that integrate moral and ethical issues and prepare students to practice according to an accepted code of professional practice. Therefore, it is imperative that we do our best to prevent students from participating in practices such as cheating, plagiarism, unethical clinical practice, alteration of records, forgery, false representation, and knowingly assisting another in dishonest acts (1,6). Hubert's (7-9) finding of a relationship between unethical classroom behaviors and unethical clinical behaviors is particularly disturbing as unethical clinical practice can affect safe nursing practice. The most frequent unethical clinical behaviors found were: discussing patients in public places or with nonmedical personnel; taking hospital equipment for use at home; and recording that medications, treatments, observations, or home visits were performed when they were not. A number of factors contribute to academic dishonesty. These include competition for higher grades, honors, awards, and a grade point average sufficient for graduate study; an emphasis on perfection in nurses and nursing practice; lower levels of moral development; risk-taking behaviors that count on not getting caught or punished; the will to succeed at all costs; lack of preparation or skills; poor academic standing, poor grades, and concerns about the financial impact of failing a course; personal time management factors and competing assignments; a classroom or clinical environment conducive to academic dishonesty; and the use of rationalizations to justify dishonest actions (1,3,10). While faculty and students agree that an ever-increasing number of students cheat, students tend to differentiate between cheating on exams and what they consider less serious events such as plagiarism or working together on assignments that were meant to be completed individually (11,12). …

124 citations


"Perceptions of academic integrity a..." refers background or result in this paper

  • ...Furthermore, schools of nursing are becoming increasingly competitive, and students are under pressure to maintain high grades (Kolanko et al., 2007; Roberson, 2009)....

    [...]

  • ...Nursing faculty have endorsed assigning seats, moving seats further apart during examinations, using multiple test forms, having students leave belongings at the front of the room, and using at least two proctors who walk around the room, as useful practices in preventing cheating (Arhin, 2009; Kolanko et al., 2007; McCabe, 2009; Roberson, 2009; Tippitt et al., 2009)....

    [...]

  • ...Academic experience should prepare students for professional practice (Kolanko et al., 2007), and cheating undoubtedly interferes with the education of new nurses (Yardley et al., 2009)....

    [...]

  • ...Nurse educators, as gatekeepers to the profession, place emphasis on excellence in student performance (Kolanko et al., 2007; Tippitt et al., 2009)....

    [...]

  • ...High-tech cheating included purchasing copies of examinations online, texting answers, using handheld devices to access the Internet, and using small cameras or camera phones to take pictures of examination pages (Arhin, 2009; Harper, 2006; Kolanko et al., 2007; Langone, 2007)....

    [...]