Academic and clinical dishonesty in undergraduate nursing students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to describe the incidence of, and reasons for, academic and clinical unethical behaviors among undergraduate nursing Students Currently enrolled in rurally located schools of nursing. Several factors were used for purposes of comparison, including number of years education, type of nursing education preparation, and exposure to a nursing ethics course. The objective of this specific study was to broaden the available knowledge base in the area of unethical behavior, by providing data on the self-reported behavior of nursing students in rurally-located schools of two different preparation types: Associate's degree and Baccalaureate. The target population for this study Was nursing Students enrolled in rurally located undergraduate schools of nursing. The study sample consisted of 177 nursing students, selected from the following schools of nursing; Salisbury State University, Delaware Technical College, and Wor-Wic Community College. Convenience samples of intact classes were sought, with approval of the institution and instructors involved. Subjects were asked to anonymously complete the questionnaire, Hilbert Unethical Behaviors Survey (HUBS). The tool consisted of twenty-two items, each requiring a numerical entry, corresponding with the number of times the subject participated in a given behavior. In addition, two qualitative questions were included, regarding the reasons for such behaviors. Permission was obtained from the Human Subjects Committee of Salisbury State University prior to data collection. All data collection was completed by the student researcher, with no one else having access to the completed questionnaires or the raw data, prior to coding. Full disclosure was provided to the subjects, who were then given the instrument, with the explanation that they may choose to participate fully, partially, or not at all. Signed informed consent was not obtained, since participation implied consent. Once data was coded, the questionnaires were destroyed by the student researcher. The findings of this study supported only one of the hypotheses put forth by the researcher. A positive correlation was found between classroom and clinical behaviors. The other hypotheses which related to quantitative data were not supported. The researcher includes some possible explanations for this finding and some suggestions for further study. The qualitative data obtained in this study were rich and varied, providing insight into the research question regarding reasons and explanations for unethical behaviors. A new model, "Stages of moral development in the professional nurse," was developed by the researcher, based on the information obtained in this study. The implications of this model and suggestions for model testing are included.