Medical student academic misconduct: implications of recent case law and possible institutional responses.

Recent case law has protected medical students found guilty of academic misconduct from severe sanctions by emphasizing due process and contractural rights. In light of this development, proactive approaches should be considered by medical schools. Faculty or administrators who have legal backgrounds are more likely to avoid breach of contract and violation of due process and should be appointed as hearing officers in cases of alleged academic misconduct. Finally, determination of a student's mental state (as defined in the MPC) by the hearing officer is a fair and rational method of determining what sanctions should be placed on medical students found to have cheated or plagiarized.