Nursing Misconduct Paper

Managing misconduct in nursing education is more prevalent than expected because the high level of trust that is placed in the nursing profession. Encountering a situation in which potentially four separate students may have submitted identical work seems unfathomable, but in reality there is a possibility this scenario might occur. As nurse educators, it will be important to start early in the education process providing clear behavioral expectations for the nursing program. Billings and Halstead (2016) provide potential proactive strategies which include but are not limited to forewarning in the course syllabus, reviewing institutional code of conduct, and establishing a trusting environment. Outlining behavioral expectations in the course

Regardless of how prevalent cheating is, nurse educators need to focus on identifying the behavior, resolving any ethical issues, and develop processes to prevent or correct the undesirable behavior (Stonecypher & Willson, 2014). Billing and Halstead (2016) identify steps to take when investigating possible misconduct which are to gather and document information, engage and confront the student, focus on the behavior, outline require new behaviors, outline consequences, and refer when necessary based on circumstances. In the scenario presented as the educator, the first step would be identifying the potential misconduct which is questionable plagiarism, and at this point gather information and document prior to engaging with the students individually. When speaking with each student it should be done soon after the concern is noted, and should be done privately. During that meeting discuss the behavior and listen to the student, if the concern is still valid the educator should counsel on expected behavior change from the student (Billings and Halstead, 2016). Next in the meeting, discuss the potential consequences if the behavior is not resolved or does not change. Based on institutional policy plagiarism may need to be reported to the appropriate administrative personnel (Billing and Halstead, 2016). Following these steps, gives clear guidance on responding to the potential plagiarism identified in the