Why medical and health line students cheat!?

A study has been done to determine what leads to pharmacy students cheating in a university setting. A questionnaire was distributed mainly to pharmacy students at a comprehensive university in the southeastern United States to assess self-esteem, self-efficacy, idealism, relativism, student attitudes toward cheating, tolerance for peer cheating, detachment from the university, Machiavellian behavior, and demographic information.

Results.

Factors that influence student attitudes toward cheating:

•  Gender. Male students were more likely to tolerate cheating behavior in their peers, which may suggest that they are more likely to engage in academic dishonesty.
• Relativism. There was a positive correlation between tolerance of peer cheating and relativism. Relativistic students believe that moral actions depend on the nature of the situation and the individuals involved. Thus, their judgment of others is based more on circumstances than the ethical principle that was violated. Relativistic students tend to be highly pragmatic and may view cheating as a possible last resort that is preferable to the alternative of failing a test, assignment, or course.
• Degree of idealism Contrary to relativism, higher levels of idealism were negatively correlated with tolerance for peer cheating. 
• Institutional setting. Detachment from the university was positively correlated to higher tolerance for peer cheating.

Factors that doesn’t influence students attitude towards cheating:

•  Age
• GPA
• Race
•  Income
• Marital status

Other studies:

Baldwin and colleagues reported that:


1. Medical students

• 39% witnessed some type of cheating among classmates during the first 2 years of their medical education
• 67% had heard about cheating
• 5% admitted cheating

2.Baccalaurate and associate-degree nursing students

• 61% to 94% of students had witnessed peer cheating
• 8% to 39% had cheated themselves

3. Pharmacy student

•  80% of students admit cheating or witnessing cheating while attending pharmacy school.

Reference:

Marilyn D. Saulsbury PhD, BSPharm; Ulysses J. Brown, PhD; Simone O. Heyliger PhD; Ruby L. Beale PhD. Effect of Dispositional Traits on Pharmacy Students' Attitude Toward Cheating. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. Medscape Pharmacist. Retrieved from: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/744338