Ethical Issues & Policies of Midpoint College

Nursing education provides a valuable service through the training of qualified nurses who provide health care. Nursing education is an important component within higher education, but more now than ever nursing education programs encounter ethical situations and academic dishonesty within the classroom and clinical that affect both students and programs. This paper will interview Nursing program director Dr. Kathryn Whitaker about ethical issues that arise, the policies are in place to handle them, and how this aligns with class, institutional, accreditation policies, and standards of practice.

Dr. Kathryn Whitaker is Chair of the Nursing Program at Midpoint College, a professionally-oriented liberal arts school in Midpoint, KY. Dr. Whitaker earned a Doctor of Nursing Practice from the Northern State University and has served as Chair for the last 10 years of Midpoint College. Dr. Whitaker provided helpful information on how important it is to maintain the integrity of a nursing program and how vital it is for the program director to communicate clearly to faculty, staff, and students policies and standards to ensure this.

Dr. Whitaker was asked to provide examples of ethical issues she often encounters and the policies and procedures she uses to attempt to handle these problems. According to Dr. Whitaker, common ethical issues that arise include students cheating on tests, plagiarism, and confidentiality concerns. Often students are in an “increasingly a high stakes environment where a student’s retention in or progression through a program, scholarship or loan, parental approval, or other significant factor is dependent on academic success” and are tempted to cheat (Tippit, Ard, Kline, Tilghman, Chamberlain, Meagher, 2009, p.239). Dr. Whitaker indicated that in the past “students have worked together to try to determine techniques to cheat the nursing tests” (K. Whitaker, personal communication, April 13th, 2014). Students have also in increasing numbers submitted plagiarized papers as their own. Dr. Whitaker noted, “plagiarism is an ever increasing concern for our faculty” (K. Whitaker, personal communication, April 13th, 2014).

The nursing program at Midpoint College requires that students in clinicals not discuss their patient's medical issues, but “students have difficulty keeping themselves from sharing this information” (K. Whitaker, personal communication, April 13th, 2014). Writing about patient confidentiality, Claire McGowan writes, “a nurse is obligated to protect confidential information patients unless required by law to disclose the information” (McGowan, 2012). Accreditation standards include that “students participate in clinical experiences that are evidence-based and reflect contemporary practice and nationally established patient health and safety goals,” confidentiality policies regarding this are crucial (Accreditation Manual, 2013).

Dr. Whitaker says that developing and articulating clear policies that are aligned with the campus, institutional, and accreditation standards are essential. These policies define issues such as cheating, plagiarism, and confidentiality expectations. Dr. Whitaker also makes sure that faculty and staff address this to the students before entering the program and before the start of each term. Dr. Whitaker said, “we firmly will proceed to administer disciplinary actions that include if necessary dismal from the nursing program” (K. Whitaker, personal communication, April 13th, 2014).Discipline is in line with the institutional policies of Midpoint College and the Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing, which states “Policies for nursing students are congruent with those of the governing organization, publicly accessible, non-discriminatory, and consistently applied” (Accreditation Manual, 2013). Dr. Whitaker says that she works with community healthcare providers, accreditation providers, and institutional policies to align these various concerns into clear policies that help future students grow into qualified professionals.

Nursing students undergo a rigorous education to become nursing professionals. Dr. Kathryn Whitaker as a nursing program director uses policies and procedures aligned with institutional and accreditation standards to ensure this is handled successfully and that ethical issues that arise are handled properly. Dr. Whitaker is an essential part of making sure that nursing education is providing adequate and quality students for the profession.

References

Accreditation Manual. (n.d.). Accreditation Commission for Education in Nursing. Retrieved April 13, 2014, from http://acenursing.org/accreditation-manual/

Mcgowan, C. (2012). Patients' Confidentiality. Critical Care Nurse, 32(5), 61-64.

Tippit, M., Ard, N., Kline, J., Tilghman, J., Chamberlain, B., & Meagher, P. (2009). Creating Environments that FOSTER Academic Integrity. Nursing Education Perspectives, 30(4), 239-244.

Whitaker, K. Personal Communication, 2014, April 13th.