Professional Integrity
Abstract
Some years ago, one of the students in my medical ethics class approached me after the major research paper had been graded (it was worth 40 percent of the grade in the course). This student had worked hard during the course and had also worked hard on this 20-page paper, but it was clearly a solid B paper and there was tragic disappointment on the face of this student. "I need an A on this paper to keep my A in the course," he said. "Please, you must raise my paper grade or you'll jeopardize my chance to be admitted to medical school." Now I was very much interested in helping this student achieve admission to medical school because I believed he had the potential to be an excellent physician and I had said as much in the strong letter of reference I had written for him and sent to several medical schools. But raise his grade on the basis of this request? My immediate response, provided almost automatically, was "I can't do that." In a very real sense, what I want to discuss with you is bound up with that answer--I can't do that." When I gave that answer, I didn't mean that I wasn't able to do that or that I didn't have the authority to do that. Physically and from the perspective of being the only instructor in the course, I could have raised that grade. And I didn't mean that fear of external consequences prevented me from changing that grade--in other words, fear that I might get caught and possibly lose my job. No, what I meant was I can't change that grade because it would be wrong to do so for a number of good reasons.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1996
- Accession Number
- ADA529856
Entities
People
- Malham M. Wakin
Organizations
- Air University