Oxford university cheating medical students
Medical students at the prestigious University of Oxford medical school will have to resit some of their exams due to allegations of teaching. According to the Oxford student newsletter, the Cherwell, this affects students in their sixth and final year.
The examination in question was the Objective Structured Clinical Examination, or OSCE for short. In this type of examination, students usually go round a circuit of different stations, each with a different question or scenario, similar to an MMI interview. OSCE’s at medical school can use real or simulated patients, anatomical models, extracts from clinical records, imaging and much more. They are effectively the ‘practical’ part of the examination.
It appears that some students gained possession of material that gave them a perceived advantage in this part of the exam. The specifics have not been mentioned but we would speculate that the questions themselves, with perhaps the mark schemes, have been leaked. It is not sure how this has happened and the medical school has not indicated details of specifics.
The flaws of medical school exams
Sometimes medical schools do duplicate questions from year to year and it is possible to see how such data can be verbally transmitted despite a physical ‘leak’. In addition, in our experience, some medical schools have a policy of not releasing past papers or questions, and using them again year after year - an approach that has obvious flaws. Medical schools have used the same exam questions for students who sit on different dates, as well as duplicate some of the questions between subjects.
However, the situation must have been serious, as the medical school decided to force all students to resit the exam. This is because the results of the exam, with the allegations of cheating, are not valid and for the students that have access to leaked data, will not accurately reflect their performance. A student that ‘failed’ the exam under such circumstances could challenge the validity of the result. Worse case scenario, a student could start work as a doctor and not be competent to do so and harm patients. It is a shame that students that sat the exam honestly would have to go through this again.
It is also possible to speculate that medical schools are under pressure to always fail some students, as otherwise there could be criticism that they are too lax with their assessments. A policy that is obviously not helpful for the student.
Medical school examiners also have their flaws. Accusations of bias and racism are well documented for another OSCE type of exam, the Clinical Skills Assessment (CSA) which was used to assess junior general practitioners.
The stress of having to resit an exam
Resitting an exam does cause anxiety and stress, as well as making a person feel low. Quite often it means spending a holiday period (for example over Christmas or the summer) revising whilst the majority of your fellow students enjoy themselves. You may not have access to other fellow resit students, and even if you did, you will be practising with students that have failed themselves. Without identifying the reasons why you may be repeating mistakes.
The medical school may not offer any help to resit students either, with perhaps the exception of those repeating final exams. If you are feeling low and isolated, do get help, either from the university student welfare team, or from your own general practitioner.
Medical school interview questions
It is quite common to be given a scenario where you are put in a situation where you have access to material that puts you at an unfair advantage. This could be as a question, or with a simulated actor, who could be your teacher or even your friend. The overall topics are conflict of interest, as well as to respond professionally and ethically. These areas are covered extensively in our medical school interview course.
Preparing for your Medical School Interview
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