Academic Integrity Across Physician Assistant Programs in the United States (original) (raw)
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BMC Medical Education, 2019
Background: A breadth of evidence supports that academic dishonesty is prevalent among higher education students, including students in health sciences educational programs. Research suggest individuals who engage in academic dishonesty may continue to exhibit unethical behaviors in professional practice. Thus, it is imperative to appropriately address lapses in academic dishonesty among health sciences students to ensure the future safety of patients. However, students and faculty have varying perceptions of what constitutes academic dishonesty and the seriousness of breaches in academic dishonesty. The purpose of this study is to gain health sciences faculty and students' perceptions on the appropriate consequences of lapses in academic integrity. Methods: Faculty and students from different health care disciplines were asked to complete the anonymous survey in which 10 different academic (non-clinical) and clinical scenarios were presented. For each scenario, students or faculty needed to address their concern and assign an academic consequence that they considered appropriate (ranked from no consequence to dismissal). A mixed-effects model was used to assess the difference of questionnaire scores between subgroups. The study was completed in the Spring of 2017. Results: A total of 185 faculty and 295 students completed the electronic survey. Across all survey questions (clinical and non-clinical), the perceived severity of the behavior predicted the consequence chosen by the respondent, indicating that both faculty and students assigned what they felt to be appropriate consequences directly based on their values and perceptions. Both faculty and students show congruence in their opinions regarding the perceived seriousness of clinical cases (p = 0.220) and the recommended consequences assigned to such lapses (p = 0.110). However, faculty and students statistically significantly disagreed in their perception of the severity of non-clinical academic dishonesty scenarios and recommended consequences (p < 0.001). Conclusions: Our research supports the need for collaborative work between faculty and students in putting forth clear guidelines on how to manage and uphold rules related to lapses in academic integrity not only for nonclinical situations, but especially for clinical ones in a health care setting. Recommendations from this research include using an honor code utilized in clinical settings.
Determining the opinions of health sciences students and faculty regarding academic integrity
This study used Q method to understand the opinions of students and faculty in health sciences programs in physical therapy and occupational therapy regarding what they consider to be key aspects of academic integrity, viewing it from the perspectives of the individual, the academic program, practitioners, and society. Thirty-eight students and faculty sorted statements on academic integrity to represent their reactions to the condition of instruction, "What are your thoughts about values in your academic program?" Data were analysed by correlating the sorts and using factor analysis and rotation to produce two factors, each with distinct views of academic integrity. 'Collective Integrity' reflects a more society-oriented view and 'Personal Integrity' shows a more internally-driven view. Demographic information revealed that more students, women, and those less than thirty years of age define the Collective Integrity factor, which is substantiated through theoretical interpretation using Gilligan's feminist theory of development. Demographics of academic role, age, and gender were not as strongly linked to the Personal Integrity factor. The implications of this study include the need for academic institutions to develop or continue with established policies that promote academic integrity, and for further research on this subject, as well as that of academic dishonesty.
The Professional Medical Journal, 2016
Academic misconduct is a serious and a common problem. The aim of this articleis to review the literature for different methods used to counteract this problem. My synthesisis that the use of these mechanical methods of detecting and deterring dishonesty leads toa climate of us versus them between students and faculty and to an environment of policesrather than a culture of integrity. Moral development can be integrated into curriculum throughprofessional ethics courses with the purpose to develop academic integrity.
Promoting academic integrity at a Midwestern University: Critical review and current challenges
2000
This article reports on an institutional study of academic integrity based on two different sources: reporting of incidents over a six-year period (2001-2006) and a campus-wide survey administered in 2008. Findings are that academic dishonesty is widespread and increasing, yet 40% of the academic staff responding admitted they had taken no steps regarding a suspected incident of cheating due to
Academic Integrity; Fostering a Climate to Minimize Academic Misconduct Among Medical Students
The professional medical journal, 2016
Academic misconduct is a serious and a common problem. The aim of this article is to review the literature for different methods used to counteract this problem. My synthesis is that the use of these mechanical methods of detecting and deterring dishonesty leads to a climate of us versus them between students and faculty and to an environment of polices rather than a culture of integrity. Moral development can be integrated into curriculum through professional ethics courses with the purpose to develop academic integrity.
Exploring perceptions and attitudes of senior medical students and interns to academic integrity
Medical education, 2003
Context Academic integrity is fundamental to the role of aspiring doctors. However, little is known about Middle Eastern students' perceptions and experiences of educational dishonesty. Purpose To describe the self-reported attitudes and behaviours of senior medical students and interns regarding educational integrity and to determine whether there are any differences according to gender and year of study. Design Cross-sectional study using a self-administered questionnaire to 88 participants.
Journal of Academic Ethics
A high level of professional integrity is expected from healthcare professionals, and literature suggests a relationship between unethical behavior of healthcare professionals and poor academic integrity behavior at medical school. While academic integrity is well researched in western countries, it is not so in the Middle East, which is characterized by different cultural values that may influence students’ academic integrity conduct. We conducted a cross-sectional study among health-professions students at a university in the Middle East to assess perceptual differences on various cheating behaviors, as well as to explore the reasons underlying the cheating behavior. A validated survey instrument disseminated among first and second-year undergraduate students resulted in 211 complete responses and this data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics. Pearson’s Chi-square/ Fischer’s exact test was applied to test the association of various factors with academic misco...