• Salman Yousuf Guraya.
• Vice Dean College of Medicine, Clinical Sciences Department, University of Sharjah United Arab Emirates. Electronic address: salmanguraya@gmail.com.
• J Chin Med Assoc. 2018 Sep 1; 81 (9): 787-795.

BackgroundThere are varying perceptions about professionalism and academic integrity, both being influenced by regional, cultural, contextual and religious factors worldwide. Very few studies have compared the variations in understanding about academic integrity among medical faculty and students. This study explored the existing understanding of academic integrity in a Saudi and a UK medical school.MethodsThe validated Dundee Polyprofessionalism Inventory I: Academic Integrity was administered online to the students and staff of a Saudi and a UK medical school. The data was analysed by SPSS software and a p value of less than 0.05 was considered significant.ResultsOf 1005 invitees, 411 completed the survey; response rate of 40.8%. The findings showed significant variations towards opinions of lapses of academic integrity. Mean rank scores showed that faculty of both schools were stricter than students and clinical staff were stricter than non-clinical staff (p < 0.05). The UK students were stricter for 16 and Saudi students were stricter for 10 lapses of academic integrity (p < 0.05). Yearly stratifications of students' recommendations identified a pattern of learning process as indicated by higher sanctions by senior students than their junior counterparts.ConclusionThis study identified some congruence as well as some significant dissimilarities in the sanctions for academic dishonesty. These data can be utilized for standard setting of professionalism that will facilitate the migration of International Medical Graduates by promoting their fitness to practise, especially probity and honesty, as defined by the General Medical Council of UK.Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Taiwan LLC.

14 keywords...

hide…