"Integrity is integrity. IT doesn't matter the context" : a qualitative exploratory study of academic integrity in an undergraduate nursing program

Academic integrity is integral to the development of knowledge, clinical skills, and the professional development of nursing students, and provides an inextricable link to the standards for professional nursing practice. A semi-structured interview of 11 nursing academics was undertaken to explore academic integrity in an undergraduate nursing program in a large, Australian metropolitan university. An inductive approach to thematic analysis was used to identify the following themes (1) Graduate attributes: the participants believed academic integrity was important in equipping nurses with the knowledge, skills, critical thinking, and moral integrity necessary to support decision making in clinical practice. They expressed concerns that dishonest behavior may be transferred into clinical practice and threaten patient safety. (2) Gatekeepers: participants viewed themselves as gatekeepers, with vested interest to protect patients and the professional reputation of nursing. (3) Role models: participants instilled integrity in students nurses through dialog and role modeling of discipline-specific values. (4) Curriculum: participants believed that assessment design, course content and the physical environment influenced a student’s ability to maintain integrity. Based on these findings, the participants identified a greater focus on the importance of academic integrity in the development of graduate attributes should be made more explicit to nursing students throughout their studies. A focus to learning with integrity will create notable learning opportunities and better prepare students for future professional practice.