Nursing schools are highly selective in their admissions process. Their goal is to attract and admit students who will provide exceptional care to their patients. As such, the nursing field tends to draw students that are extremely competitive. To ensure nursing students truly understand the material they are learning and have adopted the skills necessary to practice after graduation, most undergraduate and graduate programs require their students to complete a capstone project.
Unfortunately, the competitive nature of nursing school can be overwhelming for some students, especially as they are juggling classes, personal responsibilities, and their capstone project. When students get overwhelmed, they make mistakes, and sometimes these mistakes lead to allegations of misconduct. If you or someone you know has been accused of misconduct while writing their capstone project, an attorney-advisor can help. Call the Lento Law Firm today at 888-535-3686.
What is a Nursing Capstone Project?
A nursing capstone project is usually required as part of the clinical component of nursing school, both at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Generally, nursing capstones are trying to test students on their research, critical thinking, organization, and communication skills. To write an effective capstone project, students are expected to combine these skills to study their particular project idea.
While the guidelines for nursing capstone projects will vary depending on the school, they generally adopt one of the following formats: policy memo, case study, or research piece. First, a problem is stated, and then the rest of the capstone project is spent solving the problem based on experiential and research evidence.
To ensure nursing students are carrying out their projects appropriately, their school may encourage them to work with a practicing professional to come up with a research proposal and to help guide them through the process. There are instances, though, where these advisors are not as available to the student as is necessary, or they fail to advise students properly, leading the student to seek out help in other areas. Often, nursing capstone projects occur because the student makes assumptions without the guidance they were promised. An attorney-advisor will ensure the school understands how the issue cropped up and who is actually responsible for it.
Accused of Misconduct on Nursing Capstone Project
Like all programs, nursing schools require their students to follow strict conduct guidelines, both professionally and academically. When a student violates these guidelines, they run the risk of being punished for the behavior.
One such academic conduct guideline is the requirement to maintain academic integrity. Academic integrity is incredibly important to the fostering of ideas, knowledge, and respect in the academic environment. Whenever a student violates academic integrity, they are undermining the learning experience and ethical standards of the college or university. In programs like nursing, academic integrity is even more important.
If a student is unable to prove they understand the material and skills they are learning without doing something like cheating, how are we supposed to trust them in the clinical setting?
Now, the exact definition of academic misconduct – the violation of academic integrity – changes from school to school, but it typically includes:
- Using or attempting to use materials or resources on an academic assignment without permission; copying or attempting to copy another student's answers on an academic assignment.
- Using someone else's words, ideas, or data on an academic assignment without giving them proper credit; failing to cite a source correctly on an academic assignment.
- Creating or changing data for an academic assignment.
- Misrepresenting and misquoting sources on an academic assignment.
- Failing to follow ethical guidelines.
- Submitting an academic assignment to multiple classes for credit without permission.
- Taking someone else's academic work without their permission, to prevent them from turning it in.
If a student is accused of committing one of these acts, they will be reprimanded and potentially referred for disciplinary action. For example, at Duke University School of Nursing, when a student is suspected of violating the integrity policy, the issue will first be reviewed by the faculty member in charge of the academic assignment. The faculty member will set up a meeting with the student within five business days. During the informal meeting, the faculty member will attempt to resolve the issue with the student.
If the student and the faculty member cannot agree on a solution, the matter will be referred to the Vice Dean for Academic Affairs (ADAA). Within 10 days of receiving the complaint, the ADAA will investigate the allegations and determine whether sanctions are reasonable. If they decide that sanctions are warranted, they will assign ones that are proportionate to the level of the violation. Thus, if Duke nursing students are caught cheating, they will first be reprimanded in writing and given a zero on the assignment. But if they are caught cheating a second time, they will be dismissed from the program without the option to reapply.
However, students have the option to dispute the sanction by requesting a Judicial Board Hearing. If the Chair of the Faculty Governance Association decides a hearing is justified, they will schedule one. During the Judicial Board Hearing, the accused student will have a chance to present their defense, including presenting relevant evidence and witness testimony to support it. When both sides have been heard fully, they are given the opportunity to cross-examine one another. At the end, the Judicial Board will determine whether the student is responsible for the violation and/or whether the sanctions imposed are appropriate. This decision is final unless the student can show that new information or evidence was discovered after the hearing or they believe the Judicial Board violated their own procedure.
Either way, an attorney-advisor will be able to help nursing students navigate these procedures. Being accused of academic integrity violations in relation to your nursing capstone project can have serious ramifications on your future prospects. Working with a student defense attorney-advisor is crucial to ensuring your due process rights are upheld at every stage. You've worked so hard to get where you are, don't let university issues and mistakes prevent you from achieving your goals.
Other Nursing Capstone Project Issues
While academic misconduct allegations make up the bulk of nursing capstone project issues you might experience, like ethical reasoning problems. Ethical reasoning is the ability to identify, assess, and develop ethical arguments, and it is a huge part of the nursing field. Nurses, just like other medical professionals, are constantly faced with ethical dilemmas, including:
- Helping patients or their loved ones make life-or-death decisions that go against the nurse's own religious beliefs.
- Inadequate staffing.
- Deciding when it is appropriate to tell an underage patient's parents about their medical information.
- Patients who are pro-life but aren't passing their miscarriage and need an abortion procedure to remove it.
- Asking patients with low literacy levels to sign consent to treatment forms.
- Dating former patients.
- Complying with verbal end-of-life requests in the absence of an advanced directive when loved ones object.
Generally, ethical reasoning courses in nursing school are meant to help students critically think about hard questions and how they would apply their answers in real-world situations. As such, if a student chooses a nursing capstone project and is unable to piece out the ethical questions it might involve, their advisors are likely to call their personal ethics into question. When a nurse's personal ethics get in the way of their ability to provide patient-centered, evidence-based care, it will prevent them from succeeding in their career. No hospital will want to hire a nurse who is unable to think critically and navigate ethical issues while on the job.
For example, if the nursing capstone project centers on diabetes management during pregnancy, it probably should not center its research portion on requiring these pregnant women to take weight loss pills like ephedrine or fen-phen to increase their metabolism and suppress their appetite to help them control their diabetes. The advisor in charge or your capstone may flag this, and depending on how you respond, you could be referred for some sort of sanction.
Further issues might include changing your capstone project topic part of the way through writing. There is so much that goes into writing a nursing capstone project, which is why the research topic needs to be approved by the faculty in charge of the project. This allows the faculty member to help guide you through the writing process, keeping you on track and ensuring you are completing the assignment to the best of your ability. If you decide to change the subject of your project part of the way through the writing process, it could prevent you from turning it in on time.
Additionally, if the advisor encourages you not to change the project topic or explains that the new project topic isn't going to work, and you decide to avoid that advice and continue on, it will affect your ability to pass the capstone – preventing you from graduating on time. When this happens, the best thing you can do is contact an attorney-advisor to negotiate and advocate with the school on your behalf.
Consequences for Nursing Capstone Project Issues
Just like any other school, nursing schools want to protect their reputations. If you are found responsible for violating academic integrity, or ethical reasoning, or have personal issues with your advisor, and you are suspended or dismissed from the program, it will be noted on your transcripts. Any time you try to apply to a new program or a fellowship after graduation, the admissions team will inquire into the notation. Consequently, they may decide to reject your application.
This is why it is so important to defend yourself effectively during these proceedings. Being accused of an integrity violation is one thing, but being found responsible for it really can affect your entire life. Unfortunately, many students decide to defend themselves during these proceedings and end up not succeeding. Whether you are prepared well or not, trying to defend yourself during a disciplinary hearing is an overwhelming experience. The stress and anxiety can prevent you from presenting your case successfully. Hiring an attorney-advisor will ensure you have both a solid case and feel confident to defend yourself.
How an Attorney-Advisor Can Help
Attorney-advisors are unique consultants in the student defense arena. Not only do they have the legal acumen to understand the nuances of a disciplinary proceeding, but they also have the experience of helping hundreds of students across the country who are fighting similar battles. As explained above, many students fail to contact an attorney-advisor at the beginning of this process and are unsuccessful in their defense. Or they decide to wing the entire thing and end up being punished unnecessarily.
Academic attorney-advisor Joseph D. Lento and the Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team have spent large parts of their careers helping students defend their positions in school. They know how often students are falsely accused of misconduct and how damaging it can be for their futures. As such, they work tirelessly to uncover every bit of relevant and helpful evidence and witness testimony. Not only will you be fully prepared for your hearing, but you are more likely to receive the best possible outcome for your case. Call 888-535-3686 today or schedule a consultation online. Attorney Lento and the Lento Law Firm's Education Law Team can help.
