During a practical exam, you see a classmate cheating. What do you do?
Professional integrity when it costs you socially. Every dental school has an honor code and this scenario is the live test of it.
How to structure your answer
- 1Confirm what you saw
- 2Weigh the obligation
- 3Act, usually by speaking to the person and then reporting
- 4Acknowledge the difficulty honestly
- Don't assume — say what you actually observed versus what you inferred
- Name why it matters: this person will treat patients
- Describe your action concretely, including reporting
- Acknowledge it's hard and you'd do it anyway
A strong answer
What lands
If I had clear evidence that a classmate was cheating during a practical, I would report what I observed through the school's process. I wouldn't accuse someone based on a suspicion alone. It's uncomfortable to report a peer, but practical exams help establish whether we're developing skills we'll eventually use on patients. Patient safety and fairness have to matter more than avoiding an awkward conversation.
Separates evidence from suspicion, reports through the proper channel, and says why it matters for patients.
A weak answer
What most people say
I'd talk to him privately after the exam. I wouldn't want to blow up someone's whole career over one bad decision without hearing him out first, because maybe he panicked, maybe something is going on at home. I'd tell him exactly what I saw and that he needs to make it right himself, and I'd hope that would be the end of it.
Stops at the private conversation. A future patient never enters the answer.
The trap
⚠Stopping at 'I'd talk to them first' and never getting to reporting. Talking to them is a fine first step; if that's your whole answer, you've signaled you'd protect a peer over a future patient.
Reading it isn't the same as saying it.
Most people can explain a good answer and still fall apart saying one out loud. Admitted asks you all 100 questions in a faculty voice, records you, and scores your pace and filler words.
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