CASE

“Was I a coward?”

As an intern I felt privileged to have the opportunity to work in the laboratory of a chief researcher in an area of particular interest to me. At a professional meeting the researcher, who was also head of the lab, presented the results of a study with which I was familiar in a way that I thought inaccurately inflated the potential benefits of the findings. I was aware that the work had been written up and was being submitted for publication. Challenging the researcher's interpretation would be, in my opinion, an act of professional suicide. I also assumed that future attempts to duplicate the results would either prove or disprove the conclusions presented. Was this assumption enough to justify my inaction, or was I just a coward?

CASE

“A faculty member listed his name as first author”

My medical school program involved a special curriculum that required students to write a thesis in a health-related field. As it turned out, my work received acclaim beyond the academic requirements. I was invited to do a presentation at a professional conference and I wrote a paper that was accepted for publication. A faculty member, who had played an important advisory role, listed his name as first author. I felt angry and betrayed but didn't know whether to make an issue of it or not.