Cheating

The Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapy Regulators (The Alliance) and the physiotherapy regulatory authorities are taking an active approach to prevent exam cheating.

What is cheating?

Cheating is any deliberate action or behaviour that gives an individual, or a group, an unfair advantage over others taking the same exam.

The Physiotherapy Competency Examination (PCE) demonstrates a physiotherapist’s knowledge and skills in assessing and treating patients, accessing professional resources, communicating effectively and maintaining professional relationships.

Any discussion of the content of the PCE is considered to be a form of cheating. If you give or receive information about previous exams, you are cheating.

Why is cheating a problem?

People who cheat on the PCE have not fully demonstrated that they have the knowledge and skills for independent practice. If they do not have the knowledge and skills, they put themselves, their patients, their colleagues and their employers at risk in their practice of physiotherapy. People who help others to cheat may be permitting unqualified candidates to become licensed.

What are we doing about cheating?

We monitor exam candidates to prevent the obvious methods of cheating: reading someone else’s exam paper, bringing notes into the exam, or taking materials out of the exam. However, we are also concerned about exam candidates and others sharing information from past exams.

It is acceptable to discuss the difficulty of the exam and the level of preparedness needed. It is not acceptable to share information about questions or stations from past exams. Sharing this information decreases the validity of the exam and the value of the credential, essentially undermining the effectiveness of the exam process. Sharing exam information also contravenes the Codes of Ethics of the regulatory authorities.

It is imperative that physiotherapists maintain a high level of respect, excellence and honesty regarding the profession in order to continue building upon the high standards that we have already achieved.

The following scenarios will help you to understand how the rules about exam cheating apply to relationships in your workplace.

Scenario One: The Inquisitor

Quizzing recent exam candidates – When does curiosity become inappropriate prying?

The situation

You work in a practice setting that employs several other physiotherapists. Your newest employee, Sarah, recently completed the Physiotherapy Competency Exam (PCE).

As Sarah’s official “buddy” you want to acknowledge Sarah’s recent experience, so you invite her to join you and some other colleagues for a celebratory lunch. During lunch someone offers congratulations to Sarah on “surviving the exam”. The talk quickly turns to questions of “How hard was it?”; “Do they still do 10 minute stations?”; “I remember a station about a neuro assessment that completely threw me – do they still have that one?”

Sarah is being peppered with questions and you feel that you should intervene on her behalf. But you are also a little curious about the content of the exam and how it has changed over the years.

Are these questions OK, not OK or maybe OK?

The answer is: it depends.

Some questions are perfectly acceptable to ask a recent exam candidate. For example, “How did you find it?”; “Do you think you did OK?” or “What was the format of the exam?” These are general questions that do not discuss specific exam material content and do not jeopardize the security of the exam.

Other questions such as “What did they ask you about arterial blood gases?” or “Tell us about the most difficult question” ask Sarah to reveal specific information about the exam. While your intent may be innocent and you are simply curious, you are putting Sarah in a difficult position. If Sarah divulges information about the exam (in this case in an effort to be accepted by her new colleagues), she risks being accused of not maintaining confidentiality which in turn could be considered cheating. Also, you are not upholding your obligations as a positive role model / mentor and you could even be considered to be behaving unethically (if you had ulterior motives for asking).

What should you do?

You could do nothing.

You could speak up, reminding your colleagues (and Sarah) that the exam content is confidential and that Sarah cannot answer these questions.

Think about the ethical implications of each approach in relation to:
• Your responsibilities to your colleagues
• Your responsibilities to your profession
• Your responsibilities to your employer
• Your relationships with your colleagues
• Your own confidentiality agreement from your exam

Can you think of other options that support Sarah, maintain confidentiality of the exam content, and uphold your obligations?
• You could ask a general question that brings the conversation back within appropriate limits.
• You could remind everyone ahead of time that specific questions about exam content are not OK.
• You could have a theme for the event that emphasizes confidentiality in a fun way.

Scenario Two: The Enabler

Coaching exam candidates – When does helping an exam candidate become inappropriate?

The situation

You wrote the Physiotherapy Competency Examination (PCE) three years ago and your colleague, Carmen, wrote the PCE last year. Your clinic recently hired a new physical therapist, Olga. Olga is new to Canada and will be taking the Clinical Component of the PCE within the next year.

During lunch, Olga expresses concern that she will not be successful in the exam. She has read The Alliance Orientation Resource but she still does not understand how the clinical component works. Olga asks Carmen to help her prepare for the exam by giving her examples of the stations Carmen had on the exam. Carmen starts explaining how the stations work and uses examples of some stations that were on her exam.

Is this OK, not OK or maybe OK?

The answer is: it depends.

Olga’s request for help preparing for the exam is OK. And if Carmen explains how the stations work in general terms, then her answer is OK.

But Olga’s request for examples of stations Carmen had is not OK. And the answer Carmen is giving is not OK, because she is talking about specific station content.

All examiners, item writers and candidates sign a confidentiality agreement to NOT discuss exam content with anyone. This includes talking about stations before or after the exam.

What should you do?

You could do nothing.

You could wait and talk to Carmen later.

You could speak up and remind Carmen of her agreement to never discuss the examination content with others.

Can you think of other options that support Olga, maintain the confidentiality of the exam, and uphold your obligations?
• You could direct Olga to helpful reading materials.
• You could mentor Olga (e.g., talk about current research, talk about her approach with her clients).
• You could help Olga to develop practice stations from text book scenarios or from the clients you are seeing in your practice.
• You could observe Olga’s interactions with her clients or with practice stations and give her feedback.
• You could tell Olga about the format of the exam and give her general tips on how to approach the exam.

Scenario Three: The Gossip

Talking with Examiners – When does general information become too specific?

The situation

You are in the staff room at work with two of your colleagues. They were both examiners at the Clinical Component on the weekend. You are curious about what it is like to be an examiner so you ask them, “What sorts of things do you watch for as an examiner?”

Rob responds, “Oh it’s easy – you mainly follow the guidelines and checklist you are given and watch for safety issues or problems that may occur.”

Jill then says, “Yeah, like in the wheelchair transfer at the bedside, I had 2 students forget to lock the brakes.”

“Well,” says Rob, “my client started giving information about his previous cardiac surgery as part of the conversation, because some students forgot to ask about past history.”

“Oh no,” says Jill. “And did you hear that they may drop a station from the results because students were misinterpreting the scenario?”

“No, but I’m not surprised,” says Rob. “That post surgical ICU patient was complicated.”

Are these comments OK, not OK or maybe OK?

The answer is: it depends.

Your initial question was OK, because you were seeking general information. And Rob’s first response was OK too, because he provided general information. This is information that is part of the examiner training.

When Jill joined the conversation, she provided information about station content. And Rob and Jill’s comments after that also contained confidential information. This is not OK. The examiners failed to uphold their confidentiality agreement by discussing specific stations. Examiners have an obligation NOT to discuss station content with anyone after the exam.

Often a conversation starts innocently and then moves into more involved and unethical dialogue. Each situation requires continued thinking about what is happening and whether it is “still OK.”

You are not an examiner, but you may have signed a confidentiality agreement as an exam candidate in the past. By participating in this conversation, you may be encouraging Rob and Jill to reveal information that they should not be discussing (even between themselves), and you may be violating your own confidentiality agreement.

What should you do?

You could do nothing.

You could speak up when they start to talk about exam content, and ask them if this conversation is OK.

Can you think of other options that allow you to get information about the process, maintain the confidentiality of the exam and uphold your professional responsibilities?

• You could change your first question. You could ask, “I’ve never been an examiner. Are you allowed to talk about it? And what sorts of things do you watch for?” This would signal to Rob and Jill that you respect that there are some things they cannot talk about. You would also remind Rob and Jill of their obligations.

• You could visit The Alliance website for information about the exam.