Credentials Misrepresentation: Another Challenge to Professionalism

Misrepresentation of professional credentials is hardly a new phenomenon, yet we often are surprised and embarrassed when the problem comes to light. The article by Sekas and Hutson in this issue [1] calls attention to a disturbingly high incidence of nonexistent research publications, abstracts, and presentations listed in the curriculum vitae of candidates applying to a gastroenterology training program.

Several caveats about this paper should be noted. First, the results of this small study should be confirmed by other institutions and expanded to additional specialties and subspecialties. We do not know the true scope of the problem and must resist the temptation to generalize from the limited data reported in this study. Second, the authors' warning that the methods used in their study put estimates of misrepresentation at the high end of probability must not be forgotten. Verifying research experience in the absence of objective publications is difficult and open to interpretation. The authors were correct to focus primarily …