Abstract
BackgroundHonesty and integrity are key attributes of an ethically competent physician. However, academic misconduct, which includes but is not limited to plagiarism, cheating, and falsifying documentation, is common in medical colleges across the world. The purpose of this study is to describe differences in the self-reported attitudes and behaviours of medical students regarding academic misconduct depending on gender, year of study and type of medical institution in Pakistan.MethodsA cross sectional study was conducted with medical students from one private and one public sector medical college. A pre-coded questionnaire about attitudes and behaviours regarding plagiarism, lying, cheating and falsifying documentation was completed anonymously by the students.ResultsA total of 465 medical students filled the questionnaire. 53% of private medical college students reported that they recognize copying an assignment verbatim and listing sources as references as wrong compared to 35% of public medical college students. 26% of private medical college students self-report this behaviour as compared to 42% of public medical college students. 22% of private versus 15% of public medical college students and 21% of students in clinical years compared to 17% in basic science years admit to submitting a fake medical certificate to justify an absence. 87% of students at a private medical college believe that cheating in an examination is wrong as compared to 66% of public medical college students and 24% self-report this behaviour in the former group as compared to 41% in the latter. 63% of clinical year students identify cheating as wrong compared to 89% of their junior colleagues. 71% of male versus 84% of female respondents believe that cheating is wrong and 42% of males compared to 23% of females admit to cheating.ConclusionsThere are significant differences in medical students’ attitudes and behaviours towards plagiarism, lying, cheating and stealing by gender, seniority status and type of institution. The ability to identify acts of academic misconduct does not deter students from engaging in the behaviour themselves, as evidenced by self-reporting.
Highlights
Honesty and integrity are key attributes of an ethically competent physician
It has been reported that students become desensitized to the academic misconduct as they advance in programs and accept cheating as a normal behaviour [10] and suggested that students indulging in cheating and dishonest behaviours may likely violate workplace ethics and indulge in dishonest practices with patients, peers and organizations later in their professional life [9]
There was an overall response rate of 53% (260/489) from the private medical college, with the lowest response rate observed from students of Year 3 (25%) and 5 (28%)
Summary
Academic misconduct, which includes but is not limited to plagiarism, cheating, and falsifying documentation, is common in medical colleges across the world. Impeccable moral and ethical values are desired attributes of a medical practitioner. The desired competencies and moral practices of medical professionals are outcomes of academic training. Academic misconduct, which includes but is not limited to cheating, plagiarism and falsifying documentation, is not uncommon in medical colleges across the world [6,7]. It has been reported that students become desensitized to the academic misconduct as they advance in programs and accept cheating as a normal behaviour [10] and suggested that students indulging in cheating and dishonest behaviours may likely violate workplace ethics and indulge in dishonest practices with patients, peers and organizations later in their professional life [9]
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