Correction: Nursing Students' Perspectives on Academic Dishonesty During Examinations and Assignments: A Cross-Sectional Study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.7759/cureus.52418.].

Nursing Students' Perspectives on Academic Dishonesty During Examinations and Assignments: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background and objective Academic dishonesty or misconduct among nursing students is a crucial concern within educational institutions. In nursing education, academic dishonesty hinders the development of knowledge and skills among students, thereby jeopardizing both patient safety and the effectiveness of clinical practice. This study aimed to assess the prevalence and forms of academic dishonesty among nursing students in Saudi Arabia. Methodology The participants comprised 482 nursing students from two governmental universities in Saudi Arabia. A newly developed self-reported questionnaire was used to collect data on academic dishonesty, comprising two distinct sections: a 16-item Academic Dishonesty Questionnaire during examinations and an 11-item Academic Dishonesty Questionnaire related to assignments. Results A one-sample binomial test indicates a significant proportion of students engaging in at least one form of academic dishonesty (n = 452, 93.8%; χ²(1) = 19.176; P < 0.001). Notably, 432 (89.9%) students reported dishonesty in examinations and 385 (79.9%) in assignments. Multiple-response analysis of 7,712 responses from 482 students using the 16-item Examination Dishonesty Questionnaire showed that the majority of the students (n = 4,010, 52%) were cheating on the examination. Similarly, of the 5,302 total responses from the 11-item Assignment Dishonesty Questionnaire, 2,773 (52.3%) responses revealed engagement in academic dishonesty during the assignment. The most prevalent and statistically significant form of academic dishonesty during examinations was studying previous examination questions without the knowledge of the teacher (n = 370, 76.5%), followed by providing and collecting previous examination question papers (n = 316, 65.6%) and (n = 304, 63.1%), respectively. Similarly, the common and significant form of academic dishonesty during the completion of assignments included unfair collaboration (n = 331, 68.7%), allowing a friend to copy assignments (n = 304, 63.1%), and copying from the internet (n = 286, 59.3%) without citing the source (P < 0.001). Conclusions Our study identified a significant prevalence of academic dishonesty among Saudi nursing students, a particularly noteworthy concern within the context of a respected governmental educational institution. This emphasizes the need for implementing rigorous preventive measures to curb academic dishonesty. Based on the findings of our study, recommended interventions include providing educational workshops or similar initiatives to educate students on the consequences of cheating and plagiarism, using diverse questions to assess knowledge and skills during theory examinations and assignments, enforcing stringent penalties for copying and cheating, establishing a code of ethics, and proactively promoting ethical practices among nursing students by leveraging the influence of Islamic religious principles to address this issue.

Correlation of HbA1c Level with Lipid Profile in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients Visiting a Primary Healthcare Center in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia: A Retrospective Cross-Sectional Study.

INTRODUCTION: Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients are at high risk of dyslipidemia, which in turn is associated with macrovascular diseases, such as heart diseases and stroke, and microvascular diseases, such as neuropathy and nephropathy. There are contradictory findings in the literature regarding the relationship between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and the lipid profile among T2DM patients. This study was performed to investigate the association between HbA1c level and the lipid profile in elderly T2DM patients at a primary care hospital in Jeddah City, Saudi Arabia. METHODS: This study is a retrospective cross-sectional study conducted at the Prince Abdul Majeed Healthcare Center (PAMHC) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The sociodemographic and clinical data of the T2DM patients who had visited the PAMHC from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021, were collected from the data registry of the PAMHC and analyzed for publication. RESULTS: The study included a total of 988 T2DM patients (53.3% male). Of the participants, 42.9% were aged between 55 and 64 years. Dyslipidemia parameters were presented as high LDL-c (in 60.3% cases), low HDL-c (in 39.8% cases), high triglycerides (in 34.9% cases), and high total cholesterol (in 34.8% cases). The correlation of HbA1c with total cholesterol (TC) and triglycerides (TGs) was positively significant, thereby highlighting the important link between glycemic control and dyslipidemia. A mean increase of 4.88 mg/dL and 3.33 mmHg in TG level and diastolic blood pressure, respectively, was associated with the male gender, in comparison to the female gender. However, the male gender was significantly associated with the reduction in the mean cholesterol level, BMI, HbA1c, HDL-c, and LDL-c by 11.49 mg/dL, 1.39 kg/m2, 0.31%, 7.47 mg/dL, and 5.6 mg/dL, respectively, in comparison to the female gender. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study show that HbA1c was significantly associated with cholesterol and triglyceride levels in the T2DM patients included in the study. Our findings highlight the important relationship between glycemic control and dyslipidemia.

Nurses' Perception of Safety Culture in Medical-Surgical Units in Hospitals in Saudi Arabia.

Introduction: Patient safety captures the essence of the primary principle of medical ethics, primum non nocere, first do no harm; this is an important concern in the health care system. Nurses are indispensable members of this system and are the largest group of health care providers involved in the direct delivery of patient care. As an integral part of the health care system, it is important to know nurses' opinions on patient safety culture. Objectives: First, to evaluate and measure the existing safety culture and safety of patients in medical-surgical wards (MSW) in hospitals located in the Qassim region, in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Second, to survey the opinion of registered nurses and supervisors/managers about safety culture and issues concerned with safety in hospitals in the region. Materials and Methods: A validated cross-sectional survey, namely the Hospital Survey on Patient Safety Culture (HSOPSC), was used. This survey queried 300 nurses in different MSWs in four hospitals in the Qassim Region. Results: Overall, a positive culture of safety exists in MSWs, with 69% of RNs rating their wards as having great/excellent safety culture. Notably, some participants felt it was problematic that blame was assigned to nurses for reported errors. While 55.9% of participants noted that all errors or narrowly avoided errors had been reported, less than half actually reported errors in the last year. Conclusion: The perceived safety culture was largely positive; however, the results also indicated that a culture of safety comes with some risk and blame.

Critical care nurses' perception of care coordination competency for management of mechanically ventilated patients.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To evaluate nurses' care coordination competency for mechanically ventilated patients in intensive care units (ICUs) of Saudi Arabia (SA). BACKGROUND: ICUs are increasingly using multidisciplinary approach to provide critical care. Functionality gaps remain within these teams preventing optimum performance, including a lack of adequate care coordination in the management of mechanically ventilated (MV) patients. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey of ICU nurses working across 20 hospitals in SA. METHODS: The Nurses' Care Coordination Competency Scale (NCCCS) survey for MV patients was administered to all the nurses to assess their care coordination competence. The data were analysed using Student's t test, ANOVA and linear regression. Reporting of this research follows STROBE guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 254 nurses participated in the survey. The overall NCCCS mean score was 3.94 (±0.69) out of a 5-point scale. Also, the "promoting team cohesion factor (Factor 1)" had a mean score of 3.90 (±0.77), the "understanding care coordination needs factor (Factor II)" had a mean score of 4.00 (±0.77), the "aggregating and disseminating information factor (Factor III)" had a mean score of 4.05 (±0.76), and the "devising and clearly articulating the care vision factor (Factor IV)" had a mean score of 3.78 (±0.87). The mean overall NCCCS score was 4.10 among Indians, 3.98 among Filipinos and 3.81 among Saudi nationals. CONCLUSION: There were a high overall score and subscale scores of nurses' care coordination competence for mechanically ventilated patients, but few gaps were identified in some of the items. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results provide information on the status and gaps in ICU nurses' care coordination competencies to address the needs of mechanically ventilated critically ill patients. The NCCCS can be utilised as an educational tool for nurses who are new to the ICU work environment.

Knowledge and awareness of diabetes mellitus and its risk factors in Saudi Arabia.

OBJECTIVES: To summarize available peer-reviewed publications about public knowledge and awareness of diabetes mellitus (DM) among the population of Saudi Arabia. METHODS: We followed the standard reporting guidelines outlined in the PRISMA statement for the preparation of this systematic review. In February 2018 we conducted literature searches of PubMed, Scopus, BIOSIS Citation Index, and Web of Science using the following keywords: "Knowledge" OR "Awareness" AND "Diabetes Mellitus" AND "Saudi Arabia." Records were screened, and relevant studies were selected and synthesized narratively. RESULTS: Nineteen articles are included in our systematic review. These studies included the following populations: DM patients (n=13), healthcare workers (n=3), medical students (n=1), secondary school students (n=1), and general population (n=1). Most studies found a lack of public awareness of the risk factors and complications of DM. Among medical students and healthcare workers, knowledge about the epidemiology of the disease and angle of insulin injection was deficient. CONCLUSION: This review highlights the need for increased knowledge and awareness of DM among the Saudi population. The means of improving knowledge and awareness of DM needs to be integrated into existing healthcare systems and processes to better inform patients, families and communities about this chronic disease.