Plagiarism and Dishonesty in Postgraduate Studies: GPhC Sanctions Two Pharmacists

Allegations

This case involved two pharmacists who were enrolled in a postgraduate distance-learning Clinical Pharmacy course. One registrant submitted a Cardiovascular Disease 2 paper that closely resembled a paper previously submitted by her colleague and friend. Turnitin software flagged significant similarity, and the university’s Programme Manager identified that even outdated references had been duplicated—strong evidence of direct copying.

Further investigation revealed that the paper had been shared voluntarily by the second pharmacist, who had submitted it a year earlier. The registrant who plagiarised the work claimed that she had not seen the colleague’s paper until it was sent to her by the university’s academic misconduct team. However, both registrants’ statements during the initial university investigation were later found to be dishonest.