BMJ 1996;313:109 (13 July)

Letters

Profession must police itself

EDITOR,--The role of medical research in society depends on public trust, which in turn relies on the view that science is incorruptible. Members of the profession may face a dilemma when they discover fraud. Do they risk loss of public confidence by exposing other members of the profession, possibly friends or colleagues, who fall short of the standards expected or do they become accomplices by failing to expose the fraud? The latter course of action may prove more damaging to public confidence in the long term if we draw parallels from other institutions that also depend on public trust. The criminal justice system has been discredited by disclosures that those at the highest levels permitted miscarriages of justice rather than admit that there are flaws in the system. Confidence in churches and social services was tarnished when it was disclosed that those in authority helped to conceal the sexual abuse . . . [Full text of this article]


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Relevant Article

Time to face up to research misconduct
Richard Smith
BMJ 1996 312: 789-790. [Extract] [Full Text]

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