Cheatin' Hearts

[Guest guest]

" WC Douglass " <realheath

 

Cheatin' Hearts

Tue, 28 Sep 2004 09:26:38 -0400

 

Daily Dose

 

Tuesday September 28, 2004

 

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Dishonesty — the best policy nowadays?

 

As you know, for the most part I write about 2 things: News and

issues pertinent to both the present and future of medicine, and

how the government and big business stand in the way of your

health. But every once in a while, I feel the need to be a little more

expansive in what I talk about. And you guessed it — today is one

of those days. So what's on my mind, you're asking?

 

Cheating.

 

Maybe it's because there's an election coming up, but for some

reason, I've got cheating on the brain. Not specifically adultery,

tax evasion, or shaving strokes in a golf match, but cheating in

general. It seems like everybody's doing it these days —

especially in the medical world. Recently, I've written articles

about drug companies fudging research and trial results (though

that's nothing new, I assure you), scientists ripping each other's

papers off in print, Medicaid refusing to pay for trauma treatment

claims because of loopholes in the law, lawsuits filed for false

reasons, and more.

 

Honestly (no wordplay intended), how many of us can say we've

never cheated — on a test in school, on taxes, in games or athletic

competition, or heaven forbid, on a spouse? Very few of us, I'm

betting. Let me be clear, this isn't about me being " holier-than-

thou " or anything, I'm just trying to point out that dishonesty is far

from rare to begin with — a certain amount of it exists in any

culture, and has since the dawn of mankind…

 

However, there are some obvious indications that cheating is

getting more commonplace in the modern era. For just a few

snippets of anecdotal evidence, think about how many pro athletes

are getting busted for steroid or performance-enhancing substance

use. Consider all the insider-trading and corporate corruption

scandals we've been hearing about lately (Enron, Arthur Anderson,

Tyco, et al.). Look at the adultery numbers in the last few decades

— they're not getting any LOWER. And remember the Jayson

Blair reporting scandal that shook the New York Times to its very

foundation last year?

 

But as I said, these are just circumstantial conclusions about what

one man (myself) perceives as a boom in dishonesty. You may be

wondering: Is there any hard evidence to show that cheating is on

the rise?

 

Yes there is, I'm sorry to say. Keep reading…

 

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Measuring a live snake

 

So how do you quantify cheating? After all, cheaters aren't likely

to advertise the fact that they broke the rules, laws or whatever.

 

Well, a recent WebMD online article cites a few very interesting

statistics that show an unmistakable increase in cheating and

dishonesty in the academic world. Whether this is due to declining

moral standards or easier access to plagiarized papers, standardized

test questions, or other cheat-friendly resources via the Internet, I

can't say (it doesn't much matter WHY, though, cheating is

cheating, right?).

 

According to surveys conducted by the Rutgers Business School

and the Center for Academic Integrity, in just the last 10 years, as

much as 35% more college students ADMITTED to academic

dishonesty than their counterparts in the 1980s and earlier.

Remember, these are only the ones who 'fessed up! I can't imagine

how big the total number really is…

 

Why am I so worked up about this? Because I, for one, am not so

naïve as to think that a rise in cheating is ONLY happening at

business schools and liberal arts colleges. You can be sure it's

happening at medical schools, too. I also believe that an increase

in this kind of academic " short-cutting " in medical school — plus

a radical decline in educational standards (nowadays, they're only

teaching which DRUGS to prescribe) — have dealt a " double-

whammy " of a blow to the medical care that you receive.

 

And there's TONS of evidence to back up the notion that quality of

care has diminished.

 

Scary stuff, huh? But that's what happens when morality and

principles go out the window — so does the caliber of treatment,

the breadth of your medical options, the Hippocratic Oath (this

credo took its Last Rights years ago) and all that it stands for. Now

the newly graduated take the Oath of Geneva, whatever that is. I

don't know who Geneva is and don't care. I'm sticking with

Hippocrates.

 

Kind of makes you want to steer clear of the Emergency

Department — and find a doctor over 50 or so, doesn't it?

 

 

Never cheating you out of the truth,

 

William Campbell Douglass II, MD