A Quality Improvement Project to Address Academic Dishonesty and Clinical Misconduct Perceptions Among Undergraduate Nursing Students

Background/Context:

Seventy-two percent of undergraduate nursing students engage in academic dishonesty, increasing the likelihood of clinical misconduct. Clinical misconduct may compromise patient care. Student perceptions of dishonest behaviors may influence their actions in both academic and clinical environments.

Problem/Purpose:

This quality improvement project evaluated student perceptions of dishonest behaviors before and after watching an educational video created to increase awareness of academic dishonesty.

Outcomes/Results:

Fifty-seven students completed The Nursing Student Perceptions of Dishonesty Scale before and after implementation of an educational intervention. Students perceived behaviors as more dishonest, evidenced by an increase of subscale mean scores ranging from 0.01-1.11.

Potential Impact:

Aligning student perceptions with faculty expectations through educational interventions may reduce academic dishonesty, thereby preventing clinical misconduct. Preventing episodes of clinical misconduct may promote patient safety and better outcomes.