I did state that rampant cheating did not occur in UK and Ireland (London is in the UK!!). This is what WatchingWaiting was talking about - religiosity.
I have studied in Europe where no honor code had to be signed and what are students to do when the prof walks out of a final exam for 5-10 minutes? I have seen it all - open books, people taking out notes, talk, text message, sign language, IPod and "can I go to the bathroom?" Actually, I have seen all those with profs in the room too.
It's like doping and professional sports, if you're the only one who doesn't do it, you are at a disadvantage. Does it make it right? No.
Cheating in North American institutions carries severe penalties, therefore I absolutely do not condone it here. However, if a prof will just turn a blind eye in certain european countries and everyone is cheating, why should you be the only one to fail but be able to say that you took the moral high ground. You'll have to repeat the entire year and your classmates will laugh.
It's just a totally different philosophy and the point I was trying to make was that there are good and bad physicians everywhere, regardless of the level of cheating. If you really feel the need to memorize the Kreb's cycle to death and you think it will help your patients infinitely, nobody on this forum is going to stop you.