cheating on exams...

[Droopy Snoopy]

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Yeah, cheating in medical school is a terrible idea.
They kicked someone out of my class altogether for cheating last semester...and that's after we've all had two years to rack up a nice chunk of student loan debt!
Is it really worth the risk of ruining your career prospects and finances just to get a couple extra points on an exam? Not to mention ruining your reputation with your colleagues.
Obviously none of us want to repeat a class/year, but if you truly can't assimilate the information on your first try, it's probably for your own good (as well as the good of your future patients) to repeat and actually learn it.

^^^gets my vote for the Best Resistance To SDN Addiction award. Look at that post/day ratio!

 

[45408]

^^^gets my vote for the Best Resistance To SDN Addiction award. Look at that post/day ratio!

wow. 0.09 posts per day. I'm closing in on 6 ppd.

edit: oops, just hit it

 

[Aseptic Pimp]

Has anyone ever seen somebody cheat on an exam? If so, what should be done?
Last week we had a final exam in cardio (which are web-based), and I saw one of my classmates accessing his notes. Should I say anything? I don't want to open a big can of worms (and besides, I have no proof). It is just really frustrating how you study so much, and your classmates are so dishonest. It seems as though you need to study extra hard to make up for those that cheat. Has anyone encountered this situation before?

I believe cheating is definitely wrong, but if you're going to complain because it is not fair to others getting honors or what not then I wouldn't say anything. If it goes against your morals on how this person could affect future patients then by all means go ahead and complain. Otherwise you need to realize that life is not fair, move on and do the best you can. 👍

 

[bigdan]

I agree, that is a really dumb way to administer an exam. Why did they switch from paper exams to online exams? Is it to prepare you for USMLE 1? If that's the case, then they should MAKE it like USMLE 1 - no scrap paper allowed, nothing in your pockets. Just you and that dry-erase board.

I'm sure my school has everyone beat - we get to take the exams ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD with internet access, in a block of days (not even a set test day anymore, but rather a 3 or 4 day block). Don't get me started on the Honor Code...I'm so frustrated with the way it is administered, and I will say beyond a shadow of doubt that those folks that get those 2 - 4 extra "bonus" points from reviewing their sources during exams ABSOLUTELY influence the outcomes of others. Our Honors/HP barrier is at 92.5 average. Getting an extra one or two questions right on every single exam goes a long way.

I've heard of three separate occurances where classmates have found others in "suspicious" activity. No one turns anyone in - one person said "I saw it, but I'm not gonna be responsible for ruining someone else's career over a test". Balls of steel, I tell ya.

Two points of consideration for schools developing or reviewing their Honor Codes: 1) in the vast majority of schools, first and second year grades do not matter anywhere near as much as clinical grades. So cheating can get you a high pass or honors in Physio, but in the grand scheme, what's it really matter? Why NOT prepare students for tough exam conditions?; 2) it is beyond me why we give unproctored tests and say "It's because we have an Honor Code". Bull-fuc*ing-****. First and second year of medical school are the ONLY times we will take unproctored exams in our graduate/postgrad lives. Why the hell are we "using" an Honor Code to let people test in their pj's, with their books at their ready, when Step I, II, III, every Clinical Shelf, every oral exam, every board-certification exam, will be watched like the gold in Fort Knox?

...ahhh...better now. I'm a little sweaty, but do feel better now.

dc

 

[shivasHeroLike]

yeah, i refuse to cheat. i'd rather fail over and over and over again.

if i saw somebody else cheat, i wouldn't turn them in. eventually, it will haunt them in the long run.

 

[e_phn]

Has anyone ever seen somebody cheat on an exam? If so, what should be done?
Last week we had a final exam in cardio (which are web-based), and I saw one of my classmates accessing his notes. Should I say anything? I don't want to open a big can of worms (and besides, I have no proof). It is just really frustrating how you study so much, and your classmates are so dishonest. It seems as though you need to study extra hard to make up for those that cheat. Has anyone encountered this situation before?

(I'm not a med student, but I'm just visiting allopathic forum for fun.)

If you know what's the right thing to do..THEN DO IT!!!

Maybe this is what wrong with our society..we go along with the crowd too much because we are afraid of losing our face..I'm not sure about the proof part though.

 

[mdm2fly]

I'm just a premed, but in my last quarter of undergrad, on a final exam, a friend I had met from class sat next to me and started cheating off my exam. I was so embarrassed and angry and frustrated, it distracted me from the exam. I felt like an accomplice. I tried to turn my test away, but right next to me was another girl who I didn't know cheating off my exam too! I didn't turn either of them in, and I still look back and cringe and feel awful. I completely regret it. If I see someone cheating in med school, I am DEFINITELY going to inform the proctor. It's not only unfair to you, but to all those that don't cheat and deserve to be recognized for the hard work they put into studying. Eventually, it might bite them in the a$$, but there is also a chance that it won't, and I personally don't want to take that chance.