By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
  • Health
    • Mental Health
    Health
    Healthcare organizations are operating on slimmer profit margins than ever. One report in August showed that they are even lower than the beginning of the…
    Show More
    Top News
    improving patient experience
    6 Ways to Improve Patient Satisfaction Within Hospitals
    December 1, 2021
    degree for healthcare job
    What Are The Health Benefits Of Having A Degree?
    March 9, 2022
    custom software development is changing healthcare
    Digital Customer Journey Mapping and its Importance for Healthcare
    July 21, 2022
    Latest News
    7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
    August 20, 2025
    Hospital Pest Control and the Fight Against Superbugs
    August 20, 2025
    Hygiene Beyond The Clinic: Attention To Overlooked Non-Clinical Spaces
    August 13, 2025
    5 Steps to a Promising Career as a Healthcare Administrator
    August 3, 2025
  • Policy and Law
    • Global Healthcare
    • Medical Ethics
    Policy and Law
    Get the latest updates about Insurance policies and Laws in the Healthcare industry for different geographical locations.
    Show More
    Top News
    Options For Seniors Who Outlive Their Life Insurance Policy
    February 16, 2021
    What are the Protections for Mentally Ill People Under the American with Disabilities Act?
    April 2, 2018
    5 Key Healthcare Technology Predictions For 2019
    September 28, 2020
    Latest News
    How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
    August 20, 2025
    How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
    August 20, 2025
    How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
    August 20, 2025
    How IT and Marketing Teams Can Collaborate to Protect Patient Trust
    July 17, 2025
  • Medical Innovations
  • News
  • Wellness
  • Tech
Search
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Enhancing Training to Diminish Fears of Failure, Detection to Deter Research Misconduct
Share
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
Health Works CollectiveHealth Works Collective
Font ResizerAa
Search
Follow US
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
© 2023 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Health Works Collective > Policy & Law > Medical Ethics > Enhancing Training to Diminish Fears of Failure, Detection to Deter Research Misconduct
Medical Ethics

Enhancing Training to Diminish Fears of Failure, Detection to Deter Research Misconduct

Donald Kornfeld
Donald Kornfeld
Share
7 Min Read
SHARE

 

“Hoaxing, forging, trimming, and cooking” is how a scientist referred to the problem of research misconduct in 1830. Today’s terminology may be less colorful—“falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism”—but the problem remains the same.

 

“Hoaxing, forging, trimming, and cooking” is how a scientist referred to the problem of research misconduct in 1830. Today’s terminology may be less colorful—“falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism”—but the problem remains the same.

More Read

What Steps Can Doctors Take to Boost Patient Loyalty?
Doc Foreman: Suicide Education and Twitter [PODCAST]
Bone Marrow Donation and Compensation: My Moral Dilemma
Doctor Wes Speaks on on Doctor Privacy
Steering Patients Away From Cyberchondria [INFOGRAPHIC]

The persistence of research misconduct should not come as a surprise. As long as “new knowledge” brings fame and fortune, “falsification, fabrication, and plagiarism” will be with us. That’s most unfortunate; such misinformation can carry a very high price in the subsequent waste of funds, time, and effort, and the practice of ineffective medical care. Fraudulent papers continue to be used as references long after they have been retracted.

It is estimated that approximately 1,000 cases of misconduct go unreported annually.

What can be done to reduce the prevalence of this persistent malignant problem?

In an effort to answer that question, I examined 146 Office of Research Integrity (ORI) reports on individuals found guilty of research misconduct over a ten-year period. The sample could be divided into three relatively same-sized groups based on role: students/fellows, faculty, and support staff .

The students and fellows were under great pressure to publish in order to enhance their chances for post- training employment. Faculty needed publications to support research grant applications, earn promotions, and gain prestige. Support staff were often unaware of the consequences of their actions or were careless, irresponsible, or tempted by financial rewards.

While each individual’s story was a mini-morality tale, I found six broad categories of common character traits and/or circumstances:

  • The desperate, whose fear of failure overcame a personal code of conduct
  • The perfectionist, for whom any failure was a catastrophe
  • The ethically challenged, who succumbed to temptation
  • The grandiose, who believed that his or her superior judgment did not require verification
  • The sociopath, who was totally without conscience (and, fortunately, was rare).

In general, trainees who engage in misconduct are motivated by an inordinate fear of failure, and faculty by the conviction that they can avoid detection. Therefore, policies that diminish trainees’ fear of failure and increase the faculty’s fear of detection should be more successful.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

The Office of Research Integrity has approached the problem by requiring that federally funded research training programs include a course in the Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR). It is not surprising that such courses have been found to be ineffective. It’s much too late in life to be teaching these young adults that it is wrong to lie, cheat, or steal (“fabricate, falsify, or plagiarize”).

I believe a more effective means of reducing trainee anxiety would be to enhance the quality of mentorship. One study found that among trainees guilty of misconduct, 62 percent of the mentors had not established procedural standards such as maintaining a laboratory notebook; 73 percent had not reviewed their trainees’ raw data. Only 23.5 percent of medical schools have published guidelines for mentors.

An effective mentor can establish ethical standards in the context of a good working relationship and provide emotional support when it is needed. A closer relationship would also provide an opportunity to maintain a watchful eye on the trainees’ conduct of their research. This can only be done with a reasonable ratio of trainees to mentor. That will not occur unless the quality of mentoring is considered in the evaluation of applications for federally funded research training programs.

How can the fear of detection be increased in potential faculty offenders? Increase the fear of the whistleblower! Unfortunately, for good reason, many potential whistleblowers remain silent for fear of retaliation. It has been reported that two-thirds of whistleblowers suffered adverse consequences as a result of their actions. This pattern will not change until each institution provides the whistleblower with truly effective protection as required by law. Why has that not been done ?

These are not brilliant insights or revolutionary remedies. I do not know if they have been given serious consideration in the past. If not, why not? We know that the scientific community initially resisted federal involvement in research misconduct. It argued that each institution could deal with the problem internally. However, with the emergence of a number of high-profile cases, Congress established the Office of Research Integrity.

Will history repeat itself? Will lab chiefs resist the requirement that a ratio of students to mentor be established? Twenty-five years ago, a senior figure in academic medicine expressed concern that “big science” had created programs in which trainees were inadequately supervised. Will the leaders of today’s even bigger science resist a requirement that might reduce the available supply of federally funded manpower?

I hope not.

 

TAGGED:fraudresearch misconduct
Share This Article
Facebook Copy Link Print
Share

Stay Connected

1.5kFollowersLike
4.5kFollowersFollow
2.8kFollowersPin
136kSubscribersSubscribe

Latest News

engineer fitting prosthetic arm
How Social Security Disability Shapes Access to Care and Everyday Health
Health care
August 20, 2025
a woman explaining the document
How a DUI Lawyer Can Help When Your Future Health Feels Uncertain
Public Health
August 20, 2025
physiotherapist at work
How One Fall Can Lead to a Long Road of Medical Complications
Health care
August 20, 2025
Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs
7 Most Common Healthcare Accreditation Programs: Which Should You Use?
Health News
August 20, 2025

You Might also Like

Suppressed Patient Information at Core of MN Hospital Privacy Case

January 8, 2013
medical practice ADA compliance
Medical EducationMedical EthicsPolicy & Law

Ensuring Your Medical Practice is ADA Compliant

September 13, 2021
Big data in healthcare
DiagnosticsMedical EthicsMedical InnovationsMedical RecordsPolicy & LawPublic Health

Big Data = Big Brother? Leveraging Transaction Data for Better Healthcare

July 9, 2014
Nurses & Unions | Healthcare Career Resources Blog
BusinessMedical EthicsPolicy & Law

Nurses and Unions

February 25, 2016
Subscribe
Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!
Follow US
© 2008-2025 HealthWorks Collective. All Rights Reserved.
  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?