Abstract
There is increasing attention given to academic integrity across university education and dental schools are not immune to this problem (Andrews et al. J Dent Educ 71; 1027–1039, 2007; Ford & Hughes Eur J Dent Educ 16(1):e180–e186, 2012). While there has been an increasing concern about academic dishonesty in written exams and assignments, there appears to be a false sense of security in the integrity of practical assessments, involving dental procedures on simulated patients.This paper will present a situational analysis of two unusual cases of academic dishonesty in preclinical dental practical assessments. The first case involved a student bringing a previously prepared plastic tooth into the examination room and substituting it for the assessment tooth. The second case involved a student removing key teeth during the exam to enable them to have better access and advantage over others to complete the assessment task. These two cases resulted in a complete review of practical assessment procedures and the application of new processes to maintain academic integrity.
Highlights
The range of assessment types used in a dental program is wide and includes direct observation of patient treatment and practical simulation assessments, as well as written examinations and other individual and group assessments
This ensures that students will demonstrate attainment of the expected graduate attributes and competencies of professionalism, communication and social skills, scientific and clinical knowledge and patient care (Australian Dental Council, 2016)
This could indicate that our experiences are isolated and may not be representative of dental practical exams in other dental schools; we believe that our previous false assumption, that the dental practical exam was secure from breaches of academic integrity could be held by many dental faculties
Summary
The range of assessment types used in a dental program is wide and includes direct observation of patient treatment and practical simulation assessments, as well as written examinations and other individual and group assessments. In keeping with the context, the practical dental assessments are authentic assessments – that is, assessments designed to replicate the future work requirements of a practising dentist These assessments occur in the disciplines that have a practical element and include Tooth Conservation, Endodontics, Prosthodontics, Radiology, Periodontics, Local Anaesthesia and Exodontia. In 2014, the third-year dental student cohort was tasked with preparing a crown preparation of an upper molar plastic tooth in a typodont model during their preclinical practical exam This assessment task required students to perform all the steps and procedures that would be performed on a real patient in a dental clinic. Tutors looked at the prepared tooth of student X and noticed that the black marker ink was wet and displaced when touched (Fig. 1) This was in contrast with the other assessment teeth submitted by other students
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