Academic dishonesty today, unethical practices tomorrow?

Abstract

The purpose of this article was to review the most current published literature on the topics of academic dishonesty, unethical professional practices, and research that studied the correlation between these 2 areas of interest. Literature was retrieved by utilizing key words such as academic dishonesty, cheating, workplace dishonesty, and unethical behavior. Multiple research databases were used and a reference librarian in locating relevant research studies resulting in 16 research articles reviewed and 7 articles referenced within the literature review. Upon completion, it became apparent that nursing educators should be concerned that nursing students found to be academically dishonest today may have a higher incidence of displaying unethical practices as a registered nurse tomorrow. It also became clear that the nursing profession needs to conduct its own research in this field to verify findings discovered by other professions such as engineering, business, and psychology. Finally, recommendations were given on how nursing educators should handle the topic of ethics in nursing programs.

Keywords: Academic dishonesty; Cheating; Unethical behavior; Workplace dishonesty.