How would you answer the question..

[PolarBear21]

"What would you do if you caught another student cheating?"

I'm not really sure what they are looking for

Personally and truthfully, I wouldn't do anything because I feel that someday they will get what they deserve and I don't want to be responsible for bringing someone else down. I'm not sure if that makes me look like I condone cheating or anything though..

Just curious what everyone else would say (what your answer would be and if that is what you really believe)

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[lvp0021]

"What would you do if you caught another student cheating?"

I'm not really sure what they are looking for

Personally and truthfully, I wouldn't do anything because I feel that someday they will get what they deserve and I don't want to be responsible for bringing someone else down. I'm not sure if that makes me look like I condone cheating or anything though..

Just curious what everyone else would say (what your answer would be and if that is what you really believe)

This is just like another question asking what you would do if you see a pharmacist colleague taking morphine furtively or if you are asked to fill a rx prescribed by a physician for himself. I think all of these are unethical. For your cheating question, I'd just remind the friend about the consequences of his action and it's up to him to conform or not. As a friend, I believe reminding and advising is enough--being a whistle blower would not be a great idea

 

[PolarBear21]

What if they are not your friend? Just another student sitting in front of you?

 

[WVUPharm2007]

"It's not my job to police the school."

 

[lvp0021]

What if they are not your friend? Just another student sitting in front of you?

I'd say if you had a chance, just nicely remind him of his wrong doings. If you did not have a chance, go with the other person said "It's not my job to police the school". Though you know he had some advantages over you by cheating, like you said he'd pay in the longrun. Besides, you'd be well-prepared for that test and have no worried, wouldn't you yourself? 😉

 

[sdn1977]

I actually experienced this while in pharmacy school. I went privately & personally to the professor to indicate what had been done & how. I did not give any names - he didn't ask & I didn't tell.

The exam had not been scored yet & I asked my comments not be considered in the grading of any of the exams. I just felt the proctering was insufficient to adequately test us.

So....I have no idea what actually happened at that actual exam & didn't care. But...the exams were proctered more carefully after that.

One thing I will always regret professionally is during my first job. There was a technician - actually there were no techs at that time...she was a clerk...but she was an alcoholic & drank on the job. She would go to the restroom about every hour - with her purse and always smelled like alcohol.

After I'd been on the job about a year, I finally asked another pharmacist if he felt she had a problem. She died in the ICU about a month after during a shift I was working. I was called to make a dopamine drip, a vasopressin drip, to replace crash cart supplies.....it was an awful death - she was 26. I don't know if I'd said anything it would have changed anything at all - probably not.....but I'll admit I was too afraid & too young - both age-wise & in my position to feel I could say anything at all.

 

[abt04]

when they ask a question about would you rat on someone or not whether its on a test or you see it in the pharmacy, whether its your friend, or your superior, you are to usually say that you would report them. WHy? usually, its because it is a social responsibility. just cuz you arent paid to police the school doesnt mean you shouldn't look out. because you may not report cheating in the class, the interviewers may associate that with if you saw a pharmacist stealing drugs. although the situation is different, no matter what, you should report. also to add, if you look at it in the long run, those who cheat in school may likely also cheat in the workforce, and eventually that may affect the patients in the long run. why take the risk.
it's like would you sue a doctor for malpractice . my mother told me not to because she doesnt want them to lose their license. in truth, i think it was wrong of her to say that to me because it was the doctor's fault for ignoring a patient's concern about her health that ultimately led her to cancer when it could have been prevented or treated early. you dont want a doctor out there who ignores a patient's concern about their own health.
i know you wouldnt want to jeopardize another person's career ( i dont want to either), but you have to think, it is a decision to cheat or not to cheat, steal or not to steal,but if they did decide, with their eyes open, to cheat or steal, it could be that they are indirectly jeopardizing a patient's life in the future.

i could be talking too much or pulling stuff out of my butt, but thats my opinion. albeit it is harder to report, you know it has to be done.

 

[Rxgrrl]

I actually experienced this while in pharmacy school. I went privately & personally to the professor to indicate what had been done & how. I did not give any names - he didn't ask & I didn't tell.

The exam had not been scored yet & I asked my comments not be considered in the grading of any of the exams. I just felt the proctering was insufficient to adequately test us.

So....I have no idea what actually happened at that actual exam & didn't care. But...the exams were proctered more carefully after that.

One thing I will always regret professionally is during my first job. There was a technician - actually there were no techs at that time...she was a clerk...but she was an alcoholic & drank on the job. She would go to the restroom about every hour - with her purse and always smelled like alcohol.

After I'd been on the job about a year, I finally asked another pharmacist if he felt she had a problem. She died in the ICU about a month after during a shift I was working. I was called to make a dopamine drip, a vasopressin drip, to replace crash cart supplies.....it was an awful death - she was 26. I don't know if I'd said anything it would have changed anything at all - probably not.....but I'll admit I was too afraid & too young - both age-wise & in my position to feel I could say anything at all.

That is so tragic--I really hope that you don't blame yourself for her death (I know you didn't come out and say that per say--but still)--there honestly wasn't anything you could do--chances are--if you would have said something--she might have been fired--and she would have probably been even WORSE off and would have drank even more heavily.

 

[acetyl]

I would answer the question by reporting what I saw. Unless there is physical evidence they were cheating, nothing really can be done. I don't know how it is in professional school, but at my school where I'm a chem. TA and have proctored >10 exams, I get to deal with this issue all the time. I've never seen anyone use a cheat sheet, or anything physically related, but I've seen plenty of people looking at other peoples exams. We are told that if they are suspected of looking on someone elses test, we are suppose to move them and write down their name. If it continues to happen, we are told to get the professor and the only the professor can formally charge someone for cheating if they were looking at someone elses exam.

 

[opa]

I can't believe anyone in the context of an interview question would be stupid enough to say anything other than that they would turn them in. That is your responsibility. You will have many similar ethical concerns as a pharmacist where it is not just an unfair advantage, but legal implications (stealing, insurance doumentation). The interviewer does not want to hear some finely nuanced gradation of sin balanced against the consequences to the sinner. They want to hear an unequivocal statement that you will uphold the rules and integrity of the process. If you think that it helps your case for being a critical thinker to allow as to how you worry about the consequences and how you would want the post-reporting process to be structured complete with second chances then knock yourself out. Any answer that does not end with you reporting the student is going to hurt your chances (it may not disqualify you, but, everything else being equal, the person who says they will report will get in ahead of you). Even if the interviewer may silently agree with you; even if the reality is that most people would do nothing, even if you say you may talk with the student to let him know you saw, you must say you would report the cheating to have the "right" answer.

I'm astonished that noone has pointed out what a no-brainer this is until now.

 

[bc_ga]

I was asked a similar question in an interview, and I said that I would write the professor a note on my test, to keep from calling attention to myself or making a scene. I think they should be turned in, and it's definitely the right thing to do, but I wouldn't want to be alienated for turning them in. My interviewer (a pharmacy professor) told me that was a good idea, so I think it's a good answer.

 

[abt04]

I'm astonished that noone has pointed out what a no-brainer this is until now.

some people have pointed out the answer. I happen to be one of them. We all just have different reasons for it. Of course this is a no brainer question, but some people like to also know why they would report rather than just do it only.

I am not shooting down your explanation, cuz its a really good one. but i dont think in an interview, people are "stupid" enough to not do the right thing. they are just hesitant because of the implications. of course if the situation presented itself, i have no doubt people would do the right thing because the occurrence is close to home. it just that now, they dont know what they would do because they dont fully think about the why they should report.

 

[opa]

The thing about this question is that for most interview questions, the advice to be yourself and to answer as honestly as possible has merit. This question is different and one that should lower your opinion of the interviewer since there is only one right answer and it is meant to serve as a trap rather than to gather information. There is no merit in allowing people to think that this is a valid question with valid alternative answers so I stated it in the strongest possible terms.

 

[TennisBoy78]

I took a somewhat middle of the road approach in my interviews. I would not report them directly to the professor nor would I not say anything.

I said that I would go up to the student to whom I suspected cheating and find out their motivation to cheat. What if they just found out their mother had terminal cancer, died, or some other traumatic experience? If you ratted out on them, how would you feel? No, I'm not the professor, and I have no ability to penalize them, but I would counsel them to not repeat it for many reasons, mainly: (1) Because it is wrong, (2) Because too many students are playing by the rules, and (3) Because their competency as a future pharmacist will be compromised. In counseling them, hopefully their motivation to cheat will be revealed to me.

NOTE: Only if they showed no remorse to me would I report them to the professor.

If remorseful, I would suggest that they (1) not cheat again, and (2) tell the professor what they had done because in this way this individual will be more accountable for their mistake. I wouldn't really care if they confess or not to the professor, because I trust this indivdual to not cheat again.

And if they do cheat again, I will directly report to the professor and tell him/her that this individual has cheated not once but twice, AND LIED TO ME that he/she would not cheat again.

 

[Ray1234]

I can't believe anyone in the context of an interview question would be stupid enough to say anything other than that they would turn them in. That is your responsibility. You will have many similar ethical concerns as a pharmacist where it is not just an unfair advantage, but legal implications (stealing, insurance doumentation). The interviewer does not want to hear some finely nuanced gradation of sin balanced against the consequences to the sinner. They want to hear an unequivocal statement that you will uphold the rules and integrity of the process. If you think that it helps your case for being a critical thinker to allow as to how you worry about the consequences and how you would want the post-reporting process to be structured complete with second chances then knock yourself out. Any answer that does not end with you reporting the student is going to hurt your chances (it may not disqualify you, but, everything else being equal, the person who says they will report will get in ahead of you). Even if the interviewer may silently agree with you; even if the reality is that most people would do nothing, even if you say you may talk with the student to let him know you saw, you must say you would report the cheating to have the "right" answer.

I'm astonished that noone has pointed out what a no-brainer this is until now.

Agreed 100%. You should not be flying on sky. get your feet on ground and follow your moral duties. Dont let yourself to be biased on the basis of that single word "friend". A class is always a team, lets try to make team work efficient and all team member within the limits of rules. It is upto the superior authority whether to take action or not. I believe that is not my job to punish that guy. My job is to report if i see anything wrong happening and let the superior authority know about it so that they can fix it properly. I think i will my job and prof will do his.

 

[bananaface]

By the time you are in an exam seeing them cheat, it is too late to give the professor a heads up without interrupting the exam and disturbing your classmates. I'd probably e-mail the prof afterwards and tell what I observed. before I gave up a name, I'd insist that I remain anonymous in the matter, though. I am not going to be dragged into confrontation with a fellow student. Once I tell the professor what happened, they need to address it on their own, if they can even address it.