If You Don’t Have Integrity, Nothing Else Matters

I read with great interest and sadness about Princeton’s decision to begin proctoring exams (July/August issue). I and my classmates regarded the Honor Code with great pride; not all schools trusted their students to abide by such a code. I still have vivid memories of the solemn Honor Code session in Alexander Hall, and the signing of the Honor Code on all my papers, including my thesis.

I have been teaching first-year medial students at Harvard Medical School for more than 30 years. Part of their education is focused on “professionalism.” Much of the teaching is about “integrity.” The definition of integrity I use in these discussions is: “Integrity is about what you do when no one is looking.” I tell the students that if I ask them about a lab value for a patient they were supposed to check and they make up a number because they forgot to do it or woke up late that day, they can’t be on my team. They can tell me they don’t know because they overslept and didn’t have time, but they can’t make up a number; the absence of integrity disqualifies them from being a doctor and they can’t be on my team.

There is much discussion today about the pressures on college students and the competition for graduate and professional school admissions and top jobs with financial services firms. Whatever grades you have, if you don’t have integrity, nothing else matters — you can’t be on my team.