Are “Tomorrow’s Doctors” Honest? Questionnaire Study Exploring Medical Students’ Attitudes and Reported Behaviour on Academic Misconduct

Abstract

Editorial by Glick and Letters p 296 Honesty and integrity are key characteristics expected of a doctor, although academic misconduct among medical students is not new.1 A survey of 428 American students in 1980 found that 58% reported cheating during medical school.2 We assessed students' attitudes and behaviours on “cheating” and aimed to raise awareness of academic misconduct. The survey was initiated, designed, and conducted by students. An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to 676 medical students in all years at Dundee medical school (only half of the fourth years were present at this time). The questionnaire was completed at the end of a lecture and collected by the main researcher (SCR). The questionnaire had 14 scenarios in which a fictitious student, “John,” engaged in dishonest behaviour. Students were asked to give their gender, year, and views on informing faculty about misconduct and signing a …