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Why Health Professionals Engage In Plagiarism

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Why it is important for Health Professionals not to engage in plagiarism including submission of another person’s work as their own

Health professionals should not engage in plagiarism as it is unethical, dishonest and is form of cheating (1,2). Health professionals are respected and trusted by their colleagues and patients. Engaging in plagiarism damages that trust and respect. A health professional submitting another person’s work as their own can have implications on their career, their field of discipline and their relationship with other health professionals. In medicine, this is particularly important as doctors abide by the Hippocratic Oath and engaging in plagiarism undermines this. Plagiarism is a form of unacceptable academic practice …show more content…

Patients expect that health professionals are competent to perform appropriate investigations and treatments. However, if health professionals engage in plagiarism then patients can be lead into a false sense of expectation and reality. An example of this is patients assume health professionals during their studies have learnt what medicine to give for certain illnesses and how the medicine should be administered. And now as qualified clinicians are able to apply this knowledge to patients in their care. However, if health professionals were to copy another person’s work in regards to what medications to give for particular diseases, they are not only cheating themselves but also the patients under their care who expect a high level of both professionalism and knowledge from health professionals. This situation is something that must be avoided when treating patients. Patients have a right to expect professional and competent doctors. Thus, submitting your own work and having your own ideas is important when it comes to the treatment of …show more content…

At a student level, the University of Otago can impose a range of penalties for plagiarism including: warnings, reduced marks, zero marks for the work submitted, zero marks for the paper and even exclusion from the university (1). These penalties not only act as a deterrent but it shows the seriousness in which the University views plagiarism. Any one of these penalties can potentially impair a health professional’s training in the discipline of their choice or in the case of exclusion, unable to complete their training entirely thereby having to choose another career elsewhere. At a professional level, plagiarism could be viewed as serious misconduct and health professionals may be referred to a disciplinary committee, such as the Health Practitioner’s Disciplinary Tribunal (5). Again, the possible penalties include: a charge of professional misconduct, a criminal conviction or struck off the register (5). It is obvious from these penalties that plagiarism is dealt with in a serious manner. This is important, as plagiarism is unprofessional, unethical and as mentioned previously can be viewed as theft. These penalties are in concordance with the dishonesty associated with plagiarism. It serves as a reminder and a warning to health professionals what they can potentially face if they engage in a form of dishonest practice or

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