Thread: Why you should NOT cheat

Cheating is always a concern in MANY caribbean medical schools. I am not saying this is one of AUA's concerns, but I thought many of our students should read this letter published of ECFMG


To Whom It May Concern:
As a student at American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine,
I received excellent training and direction as a future physician. I was
taught the importance of medicine academically, but failed to realize
its importance professionally.
After having taken my USMLE Step 1, I made a nearly career-ending
mistake. I returned home, went through my study aid book, and noted from
memory any question topics and specific test questions I could remember
to help my friends prepare for their upcoming exams. Earlier that
morning, I had signed a document stating I will not reproduce, by any
means, secure USMLE content. Through my actions, I failed to uphold the
integrity of our profession, not appreciating the importance of my
signature to the USMLE pre-exam agreement.
After having done so, I was called before the USMLE Committee on
Irregular Behavior for a review of my case. I faced a lifetime ban from
ever taking a USMLE exam again. I was fortunate enough to be banned for
two years, however with permanent annotation of my USMLE transcript of
Irregular Behavior, as well as notification to ECFMG and FSMB. I am
genuinely grateful for the lesson I have learned. However, I wish I did
not have to learn my lesson in this way. My transgression had the
potential of undermining the validity of other examinees' Step 1 scores
and, on a broader scale, licensing and other decisions made based on
those scores. While I thought I was simply helping my friends, I was
actually doing them and our profession a disservice.
I want to bring this to your attention, so as to emphasize adherence to
the rules, with preservation of integrity and professionalism. I want to
remind all AUC students to take USMLE's rules regarding the integrity of
its testing process seriously for failure to do so, as in my case, could
have dire consequences on your future as a physician.
Sincerely,
Recent AUC Graduate

The exam itself isn't worth mentioning, because the question distribution is skewed across every test. For instance, my test was predominately cardio, endo, and repro. I could have skipped over all of renal and GI and done about the same. The only sound advice is to know everything.

But isn't this how first aid and review companies combine high yield material. Someone must tell them what was on their exam. If students are not suppose to say anything then how do these companies get their high yield together. I am not saying what he did was right but what I am asking is how is it different from what first aid does.

excellent point. its quite amazing how well first aid can sum up wuts on the exam. they def r getting inside info and making a profit on it!

What the USMLE people define as 'irregular behavior' vs. free speech insofar as discussions between students of 'medical concepts of importance' for both enhancing patient care, and also 'high yield' for enhancing a students chance of doing well on the USMLE, is a grey area; and some students, including myself, believes it goes to far to gag students from discussions of medical concepts that are high yield on the USMLE.

There is already a thread on this topic:
http://www.valuemd.com/american-univ...-behavior.html

There is a big difference in talking about direct questions from the Step and referring to concepts that were tested on. I don't think people ever submit specific questions from the test to FA and neither do they ever publish them.

why do you think FA removed the "high-yield" vignettes from the 2008 edition?

Originally Posted by TXMD13

There is a big difference in talking about direct questions from the Step and referring to concepts that were tested on. I don't think people ever submit specific questions from the test to FA and neither do they ever publish them.

I agree with you, but I'm not sure if the USMLE people agree. Here is an exerp from the ECFMG report:

Examinees are advised in the USMLE Bulletin of Information that USMLE policies and procedures governing examinations have been established to ensure that no examinee or group of examinees receives unfair advantage on the examination, inadvertently or otherwise, thus jeopardizing the standard conditions and the principles on which the examinations are developed and scored. Provision of information relating to examination content by examinees may provide such advantage to individuals who have yet to take the examination. Examinees are directed to maintain the confidentiality of the Step examinations and are directed not to provide information relating to examination content that may give or attempt to give unfair advantage to individuals who may be taking the examination.
The following is a statement from an examinee who disseminated content from a Step 1 examination and, as a result, was determined to have engaged in irregular behavior.

What does the ECFMG define as content? Is highlighting First Aid after taking step 1, and showing it to friends irregular? Does telling a friend "I had a lot of questions about the side effects of cancer drugs?" constitute irregular behavior? Apparently, according to this report, any discussions pertaining to the content of a USMLE exam, reguardless if it is a 'medical concept of importance" is irregular behavior.