Attitudes Toward Academic Dishonesty in Physician Assistant Students

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Academic Integrity
• Physician Assistant Studies

Background:

• Academic dishonesty is a concern in higher education, including health professions.
• Understanding student attitudes and behaviors regarding cheating is crucial for maintaining educational standards in Physician Assistant (PA) programs.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the attitudes and experiences of Physician Assistant (PA) students concerning academic dishonesty during their training.
• To ascertain the self-reported prevalence of cheating among PA students in PA school.

Main Methods:

• An anonymous, quantitative, exploratory, and descriptive survey was distributed.
• The survey targeted clinical-year PA students enrolled in programs accredited by the Accreditation Review Commission on Education for the Physician Assistant (ARC-PA).

Main Results:

• Out of 493 respondents, only 3% of clinical-year PA students self-reported cheating.
• Males reported higher cheating rates than females. The most frequently observed/reported behavior was receiving advance exam information (70.9%).
• A history of undergraduate cheating was the strongest predictor of cheating in PA school, and students strongly agreed that cheaters ultimately harm themselves.

Conclusions:

• The study confirms the existence of academic dishonesty within PA education.
• Attitudes toward and experiences with academic dishonesty among clinical-year PA students are varied.