Nurses have substantial professional obligations. Nurses may add to those ordinary obligations of nursing practice by taking on research, publication, teaching, and other academic or professional writing work, including roles and assignments where the mantra is publish or perish. Cutting corners, copying, and other forms of plagiarism can become a disciplinary issue under those pressures and circumstances. If you face state nursing board disciplinary charges alleging your plagiarism or related violations of nursing ethics and standards, retain the Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team for your defense representation. Your license, job, and career are at stake. Our skilled, committed, and experienced attorneys are available nationwide for your nursing license defense. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our strategic, highly qualified, and effective license defense representation.
Definitions of Plagiarism
Nurses generally learn in nursing school, if not before, about the norms, customs, and conventions surrounding professional writing and publication. Colleges, universities, and their graduate and professional programs, including nursing schools, routinely adopt student codes of conduct that prohibit academic misconduct, including plagiarism. Those codes tend to define plagiarism as copying or otherwise using the work of another while misrepresenting it as one's own work. The Duke University School of Nursing is an example. Its Personal Integrity Policy expressly prohibits plagiarism, among other forms of cheating. The policy defines plagiarism as presenting any idea, information, or phrasing of another as if the nursing student's own, without attribution, while intending to deceive or acting recklessly with regard to deception. Plagiarism may thus involve a degree of bad character and corrupt intention, not merely sloppiness in attribution practices, although any unattributed copying may leave a strong inference of nefarious design, hard to rebut even with earnest testimony.
Applying Plagiarism's Definition in Practice
While the definition of plagiarism may be relatively straightforward, the definition's application and interpretation in any one case may be much more difficult to discern reliably. Any instructor teaching research or writing knows how naive students can be about plagiarism and how much education and training in scholarship practices it may take to ensure students understand and avoid plagiarism. Consider the account of one instructor who teaches writing to nursing students, decrying the difficulty of communicating sound practices to avoid plagiarism. Or consider the account of another nurse educator, showing how careful nurse researchers must be in their publication practices to avoid plagiarism charges. Thus, while plagiarism can look very much like bad intent and corrupt character wrong, those who deal regularly with plagiarism issues may, at the same time, show a substantial degree of sensitivity over misunderstanding as to publication conventions and attribution requirements. We can help you place your plagiarism issue in the appropriate context to help you raise your best defense against disciplinary charges.
Types of Plagiarism
To further complicate matters, plagiarism comes in multiple types. The primary form of plagiarism involves copying another's work to use in one's own writing submitted for one's own credit. However, plagiarism can also include copying one's own work to resubmit for a second credit without disclosure of the prior use, otherwise known as self-plagiarism. Authors who intend to reuse and republish their own prior work need to disclose that prior publication. Although it extends the definition to its limits, plagiarism can also include so-called guest authoring, in which the writer of the work gives credit to someone who did not contribute to the authorship as a favor or to draw reputation from the attribution. Ghostwriting a work for another, giving the other the full credit without any disclosure of the ghostwriter's name and work, is another untoward practice that is someplace in the category of plagiarism. Salami slicing is yet another sharp and condemned practice, in which the author publishes a single research study in multiple small articles for additional publication credit when the slicing distorts the study's overall conclusions. Beware of all of these practices and other potentially deceptive practices when submitting writing. And let us help you defend your practices against disciplinary charges for plagiarism.
The Incidence of Plagiarism in Nursing Programs
Plagiarism may be more common than most people think, even among nurses who generally have high professional standards and the highest public respect among professionals. A National Library of Medicine study states that 55% of nursing students commit plagiarism, which is the most frequent student code of conduct violation among nurses. That extraordinarily high prevalence of plagiarism among nursing students stands despite the fact that 80% of nursing students know that plagiarism is wrong, and 88% of students respect the ethical prohibition against it.
The Incidence of Plagiarism in Nursing Practice
Another National Library of Medicine study found that nursing school plagiarism can translate over to plagiarism in the clinical practice of nursing. While practicing nurses research and write for publication on the side or related to their jobs, and may commit plagiarism in the course of doing so, practicing nurses also make constant entries in patient records in the course of clinical practice while also writing hospital and facility manuals, protocols, and other materials. Plagiarism in clinical practice may thus include copying and pasting the same patient notes and entries repeatedly, without disclosing the practice, as well as borrowing manuals and protocols from other facilities to publish within the practice setting, as if one's own work. Let us help you defend any associated disciplinary charges.
Plagiarized Materials in Nursing Practice
The above discussion suggests some of the materials that nurses may plagiarize and over which they may face disciplinary charges. Certainly, a practicing nurse could plagiarize blogs, articles, and other writings for nursing journals, newsletters, and other media, as happens. However, practicing nurses also sometimes engage in nursing research, during which they may face accusations of plagiarism for their research publications in scholarly journals. Practicing nurses also teach, during which time they may face accusations of plagiarism for their written educational materials. As just mentioned above, practicing nurses may also copy patient chart entries, notes, summaries, and hospital and facility manuals and protocols without appropriate attribution. All these practices may lead to practice or business issues, employer or colleague condemnation, and disciplinary charges.
Excuses for Plagiarism
We acknowledge that nursing students and nurses often have compelling excuses for plagiarism. State nursing board disciplinary officials don't necessarily respect excuse-making when it comes to enforcing nursing disciplinary standards. Yet, on the other hand, disciplinary officials may give appropriate weight to the full context in which the plagiarism allegedly occurred when evaluating whether to pursue disciplinary charges and, if so, what sanctions to impose for a plagiarism finding. In the best case, these justifications may even rise to the level of an outright defense against the plagiarism charge. We can help you evaluate whether you have one or more of the following asserted justifications, potentially mitigating the wrong involved in your alleged plagiarism. Nursing students and nurses may claim that they:
- did not understand the research, writing, or publication custom, practice, or convention that they allegedly violated, despite reasonable efforts to conform their practice to avoid plagiarism;
- were not involved in the publication of the writing at all, even though given credit or assumed to have been a contributing author or approving editor;
- were following the instructions of a supervisor or senior writer whom they reasonably assumed knew the appropriate publication and attribution practices and were following those practices;
- did not materially distort, corrupt, or misrepresent the original author's material, even though having failed to supply appropriate attribution;
- acted inadvertently or mistakenly when omitting quotation marks, indentation, attribution, or other appropriate indications of use when intending the opposite to give due credit;
- did not possess the intention to deceive and did not act recklessly with regard to the publication without attribution, even though attribution was due;
- published without attribution while under extraordinary pressure to complete and distribute the writing for the benefit of an employer, journal, class, or other audience, and not with the intention to steal credit; or
- published while distracted by extenuating circumstances such as illness, injury, prescription medication changes, dependent care, housing loss, financial loss, and other unusual stressors.
The Connection Between Plagiarism and Practice
As disappointing as it may seem, researchers have discerned a probable connection between the practice of plagiarism in academic or other nurse writings and other unethical nursing practices that may directly harm patients. State nursing board disciplinary officials may rightly concern themselves with disciplining plagiarism so that the involved nurses do not engage in related violations directly harming patients. One National Library of Medicine survey of empirical research on the professions, including one study of the nursing profession, concluded that professionals who plagiarize are more likely to commit other professional violations. Those other violations may include “stealing patients' medications, lying on patients' charts, and coming to clinical [rounds] under the influence of a mind-altering substance.” The connection is unfortunate but makes sense: cheat on one thing, cheat on another. Beware of disciplinary charges for plagiarism. The allegations can cast into question your whole character for safe and competent nursing.
Why Plagiarism Can Be a Licensing Issue
The foregoing discussion suggests why plagiarism can definitely land on your state nursing board's disciplinary radar. Under your state nursing practice act, your state nursing board has the duty to protect patients and the public against unsafe, incompetent, and dishonest nursing. That obligation includes the duty to hold the nursing profession in the highest public regard. Nurses who diminish the profession's reputation harm the whole profession, affecting nurse-patient relationships everywhere. The New Jersey Board of Nursing is an example, established by the state's legislature in 1912 to “protect the health, safety, and welfare of New Jersey's residents by ensuring that those who practice nursing are qualified and competent to do so.” Do not question your state nursing board's mission or intention when pursuing disciplinary charges for plagiarism. Instead, let us help you raise your best legal defense.
Nursing Board Authority to Discipline Plagiarism
Your state nursing board likely has the authority to discipline for plagiarism, depending on the circumstances. State nursing practice acts typically incorporate general nursing standards and ethics among the other specific grounds for discipline like substance abuse or malpractice. For example, Section 90-171.37 of North Carolina's Nurse Practice Act authorizes discipline for acts “nonconforming to the standards of acceptable and prevailing nursing practice or the ethics of the nursing profession,” whether or not the acts injure a patient. The American Nurses Association publishes the nursing profession's Code of Ethics, including multiple statements that nurses must act honestly in all practices. As shown above, nursing schools, their clinical programs, and writing instructors for nurses all treat plagiarism as a serious ethical violation. Your state nursing board may pursue disciplinary charges involving your alleged plagiarism, particularly if it relates in some way to your nursing practice.
How Nursing Board Officials Discover Plagiarism
It is never wise to operate on a detection ethic, committing wrongs that one believes one may be able to get away with undetected. Notice how many professionals across the spectrum find themselves facing plagiarism charges years or even decades after the allegedly plagiarized publication. Someone, somewhere, is eventually likely to discover plagiarism, especially in today's technological world, where search engines call up old and new writings with ease, and software readily compares writings to discover duplications.
Your state nursing board has the statutory duty to accept complaints from all sources. Those sources may include your patients, their family members, your professional colleagues and supervisors, your nursing school and its professors and clinical supervisors, your nursing employers and their representatives, and acquaintances or even strangers within your professional network who come across your writings. Those whose writings you copy without attribution may be the first to discover your alleged plagiarism and complain. Those who rely on your allegedly plagiarized writings are also likely complainants when they discover the suspected plagiarism. But don't ignore the possibility of a complaint coming entirely out of left field from someone who just happens to stumble across the duplication.
Nursing Board Investigation of Plagiarism
Your state nursing board employs skilled disciplinary officials, often with substantial experience investigating and pursuing disciplinary charges. When the nursing board receives a credible complaint of plagiarism or another ground for discipline, it typically assigns an investigator. The investigator will obtain and compare the disputed writings. The investigator may interview the complainant, the original author, and users of the written material, as well as other individuals who may know of the writings' attribution, use, and impacts. The investigator may then interview the accused nurse. Retain us immediately if you receive notice of plagiarism allegations and a request for an interview. We can help you gather, preserve, and present the necessary documentation and give full, complete, consistent, and truthful answers. We may also be able to help you show the investigator that you did not commit plagiarism or any other sanctionable wrong and not to pursue formal disciplinary charges.
Nursing Board Sanctions for Plagiarism
Your state's nursing practice act authorizes your state nursing board to impose a range of progressive sanctions, from a simple warning to a private or public reprimand, all the way up to license probation, suspension, or revocation. Disciplinary officials can also order remedial education or training, fines, restitution, counseling, peer mentoring or review, and license restriction. The Utah Nurse Practice Act is an example, Section 58-31b-401, which provides expressly for most of those sanctions while implying the authority for other sanctions. Beware of the similar authority of your state nursing board to impose multiple sanctions up to license suspension or revocation. Let us help you present your best defense case to avoid all sanctions.
Mitigating Sanctions
Even if you are responsible for the plagiarism that your state nursing board alleges in your disciplinary charges, we may be able to present a strong case for mitigating circumstances, reducing or even eliminating your disciplinary sanction. A charge does not mean a finding, and a finding does not automatically mean a sanction in most cases. Our attorneys have the skill and experience to know the circumstances that board officials may consider to be extenuating and mitigating. We also know the remedial measures board officials may accept in lieu of punitive sanctions. Let us make your best mitigation case. We may be able to help you defeat the disciplinary charges by disproving the plagiarism allegations. Even if not, we may be able to help you achieve your goals of avoiding sanctions, keeping a clean disciplinary record, retaining your license in good standing, keeping your employment, and preserving your good reputation.
Board Procedures Over Plagiarism Charges
State nursing boards must afford accused nurses fair notice of the charges and a fair hearing before an impartial decision maker. You have a constitutionally protected property and liberty interest in your nursing license. Your state's nursing practice act also likely mandates the necessary protective procedures. Utah's Nurse Practice Act is once again a good example. Its Section 58-31b-401 expressly incorporates the state's administrative procedures act while also promising its own notice, hearing, and appeal rights. Those rights include the opportunity to request that the Board of Nursing reinstate a suspended or revoked license on a showing that the nurse has satisfied all conditions and no longer represents a risk of future disciplinary violations. Your state's Nursing Practice Act will offer similar protective procedures.
The Attorney's Role in Nursing Board Procedures
Understand that the above protective procedures require that you affirmatively act to invoke them. Your state's nursing board disciplinary officials are not your advocate. They may default you if you fail to respond in a timely manner, deny you a hearing or appeal, and impose sanctions. That risk is why you need to promptly retain our highly qualified attorneys to invoke your state's protective procedures. We can evaluate the notice of charges, obtain more specific information, answer the charges, present your exonerating and mitigating evidence at an early informal resolution conference and, if necessary, at a formal hearing, and challenge the board's incriminating evidence, including cross-examining adverse witnesses. If you have already lost your hearing, we can take the available appeal to correct errors and reverse your discipline if possible. Civil court review and reversal may also be available.
What You Have at Stake
Do not underestimate all that you have at stake when deciding how to proceed with our representation. Allow us to exhaust all potential avenues for relief until we obtain your best possible outcome. Your nursing license, employment, and career are worth defending. If you lose your license in the current proceeding, you could lose licenses you hold in other states and lose the opportunity to license in other states through reciprocity. Your state nursing board will likely enter your discipline in the nationwide Nursys database, making it readily discoverable to other state nursing boards. Losing your license in the current proceeding could mean the end of your nursing career. You cannot practice nursing without a valid license.
If you lose your nursing job and career to discipline in the current proceeding, you must appreciate that you could suffer a correspondingly severe impact on your personal and household finances, affecting your health insurance, retirement benefits, and even your housing and transportation. License discipline can also not only affect your professional relationships but also your personal and community relationships, as you lose reputation, trust, and standing. Don't let your world come crashing down around you because of a defensible license proceeding. Get our highly qualified help to present your best defense.
Premier Attorneys for Nursing License Defense
The Lento Law Firm's premier Professional License Defense Team is available to defend you against your state nursing board's disciplinary charges for plagiarism and related violations. Our attorneys can represent you nationwide, no matter your location. We have helped hundreds of nurses and other professionals prevail in license disciplinary proceedings of all kinds. Call 888.535.3686 or complete this contact form now for our premier license defense representation.
