Student fraud: The need for clear regulations for dismissal or transfer from healthcare training programmes for students who are not of good character

Fraud is defined as deliberate intention to deceive, and is contrary to the two most valued qualities of nurses—honesty and integrity. The Nursing and Midwifery Council (2002a) states in its Code of Professional Conduct that the nurse must be trustworthy. Students on an educational programme leading to a professional qualification as a registered nurse or midwife, which gives them the right to practise those professions, are subject to particular standards of behaviour. Professionalism in nursing means that nurses profess to something that makes them guardians of certain values. Evidence of a growth in plagiarism and other offences among students raises concerns about the trustworthiness of individuals who aspire to enter the NMC professional register whereupon they will be expected to act as guardians of certain values.