Academic integrity in online examinations in a graduate nurse practitioner program: Student perceptions and lessons for nurse educators

BACKGROUND

While nursing is repeatedly voted the most trusted profession, academic dishonesty is nearly as prevalent in nursing as it is in other disciplines and has been increasing for 30 years. The relationship between academic dishonesty in nursing programs and unethical behavior in clinical settings underscores the importance of exploring student perceptions of academic dishonesty.

METHOD

This descriptive study used a survey methodology to examine graduate nursing students' perceptions of academic dishonesty (willingness to report cheating, exam cheating deterrents, and importance of academic integrity).

RESULTS

The results showed that students would report cheating, felt current processes were overall sufficient to deter cheating, value academic integrity, and take their studies seriously. Significant findings included this was more representative of students earlier in their programs vs. those nearer to graduation who felt the current program processes may not be as effective.

CONCLUSION

It is vital that graduate nursing faculty hold students accountable and enact processes that deter cheating. Furthermore, based on the survey results, the researchers incorporated one new best practice from the literature: a syllabus statement for online courses.

A narrative synthesis on healthcare students use and understanding of social media: Implications for practice

OBJECTIVES

The aim of this review was to explore healthcare students' professional and personal use and understanding of social media.

DESIGN AND DATA SOURCES

A comprehensive search was performed in October 2017 using CIHAHL, Academic Search Complete, Education Search Complete, ERIC, MEDLINE and British Education Index. A further search was completed in February 2018 including Google Scholar.

REVIEW METHODS

A summary table was used to organise data by author, year, type of study, methods, findings, limitations, recommendations and additional comments. Qualitative findings were organised into related themes and these were reviewed and discussed amongst the authors to confirm their relevance.

RESULTS

The prevalent themes that emerged were; understanding social media, perceptions of professional & safe social media use, positive aspects of social media and factors influencing social media usage.

CONCLUSIONS

Social media is predominately used by students to communicate with peers and to access course related information. It can provide a collaborative environment which allows engagement and promotion of the nursing profession. Student nurses are generally aware of what constitutes safe and professional social media usage but there remains a need for additional training on how students should navigate the online world as there remains a significant risk of unprofessional behaviours.

Grooming and etiquette as part of nurse's professionalism: An essential curricular competency

Objective:

The B.Sc. Nursing has limited hours dedicated to grooming and personal development. A smartly turned out, trained empathetic and efficient nurse helps in alleviating the miseries of the patients. The objective of this study was to see the acceptability and perceived usefulness of a course on grooming and etiquette.

Methods:

A proforma based qualitative study was carried out at College of Nursing, AFPGMI & National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), Rawalpindi, from Jan to Dec, 2017. An eight week course, with weekly lectures was conducted for first to fourth year classes. At the end a semi-structured proforma with simple open ended questions was administered. The questions were both in English and Urdu. The results were analyzed by finding percentages of positive and negative responses. The descriptive responses were grouped in recurring themes and analyzed for content and their constructive value.

Results:

There were 186 nursing cadets who completed the course and filled the proforma (55, 52, 45 and 34 from first year to fourth year, respectively). Out of 186, 98.9% (184) thought that this was a useful course. All topics were considered useful. Most liked were communication skills, teaching visits to wards, hostels and balancing home and work. About 7% disagreed about the strict dress codes, but agreed with the proper demeanor. Many suggested that senior nurses also have a dire need of these grooming lectures as many used derogatory language. Also pointed out was absence of a mechanism to report a lapse in ethical conduct seen in a colleague or a senior.

Conclusion:

Nursing is a demanding profession. It is important that our training includes sensitization to the non-technical attributes. They have to be groomed to become role models for young talented girls to join this noble profession. Even a short course may help to sensitize these young ladies to a very important aspect of their lives and profession.

Authentic intention: Tempering the dehumanizing aspects of technology on behalf of good nursing care

The nursing profession has a responsibility to ensure that nursing goals and perspectives as these have developed over time remain the focus of its work. Explored in this paper is the potential problem for the nursing profession of recognizing both the promises and pitfalls of informational technologies so as to use them wisely in behalf of ethical patient care. We make a normative claim that maintaining a critical stance toward the use of informational technologies in practice and in influencing the thought patterns of the younger generations of nurses is a moral imperative of the discipline, because without this practice can become subverted from professional goals in various ways. We use a synthesized concept we call "intentional authenticity" derived from the writing of Heidegger and Feminist care ethics to provide a foundation for the development of nurses who understand the importance of the nurse-patient relationship and how the unthoughtful use of informational and other technologies can militate against effective or good nursing care.

Nursing Students' Perceptions of Confidentiality, Accountability, and E-Professionalism in Relation to Facebook

This study examined nursing students' perceptions of confidentiality, accountability, and e-professionalism in relation to Facebook. All of the students were aware that posting patients' names and pictures of patients constituted a confidentiality breach. When comparing students based on educational status, there were differing opinions on whether employers should use Facebook profile information for hiring decisions. Nursing programs should provide current education, including clear and up-to-date policies, about social media use.