Ethical behaviors are vital to the integrity of the nursing profession and ensure better care provision. Unethical behaviors in a nursing Master’s program and nursing are a matter of concern because they undermine the profession’s integrity and healthcare provision. The nursing Master’s program exposes students to diverse ethics related to nursing and healthcare (Taghadosi et al., 2021). It prepares them to provide safe, effective care while upholding the highest nursing and healthcare ethics standards. Unethical behavior among Master’s students poses a potential challenge in reaching the goal. Unethical behavior among nursing students also poses moral concerns because it spills over into their practice. Although unethical behavior among students and nurses takes different forms, they share similarities because they undermine the nursing profession's integrity and harm patient care.

Plagiarism is an example of unethical behavior in a nursing Master’s program. According to Carter, Hussey & Forehand (2019), plagiarism entails using another person’s words without acknowledging them. Paraphrasing only covers the act of plagiarism. Self-plagiarism should also be considered when exploring plagiarism. Plagiarism is a vital ethical issue in nursing education because it amounts to academic dishonesty. It has dire consequences for students because they can fail their grades or get an expulsion for violating academic rules. It is also a matter of concern because it translates to clinical practice. Nurses’ professional role requires them to demonstrate honesty, trustworthiness, and integrity. Students who plagiarize are more likely to engage in future unethical actions. Unethical behavior in future practice harms the quality of patient care.

Breaching a patient’s privacy and confidentiality is an example of unethical behavior in nursing practice. They engage in these behaviors by intentionally or inadvertently making social media posts that compromise patient privacy and confidentiality (Vukušić Rukavina et al., 2021). These include posting patient photos on social media platforms, making negative and derogatory comments about patients, and posting their identifying information. The behavior has dire consequences for nurses because it contravenes the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). It exposes them to potential penalties, fines, and jail time for HIPAA violations, license cancellation, termination, litigation, and disciplinary actions. It also makes patients lose trust and confidence in the nursing profession. People who lose trust in the healthcare system are unlikely to seek treatment in a healthcare setting. Hence, the behavior acts as a barrier to quality care access, affecting patient outcomes. Hence, unethical behavior among students and nurses undermines the nursing profession's integrity and harms patient care.