Questions on the Topic of Whistle Blowing
Thomas, a fifth-year graduate student, was in the final days
of completing his Ph.D. in the Department of Anatomical
Sciences at State University. He had already accepted a
post-doctoral fellowship at an academic institution and was
eager to finish his work at State University and begin his new
research project.
One day, on a break from writing his dissertation, Thomas
went to lunch with Marilyn and Shawn, new graduate students in
Anatomical Sciences. As a senior graduate student in the
department, Thomas had actively encouraged Marilyn and Shawn
through their first year of courses. He was eager to visit with
them over lunch and hear their thoughts after completing the
first year.
Over lunch, Marilyn and Shawn expressed some anxiety about
their final grade in Gross Anatomy, the biggest course of their
first year. Both students had performed quite poorly on the
first test block, but their scores had improved dramatically on
subsequent exams. They credited a large part of their success
to Hal Woodward, Ph.D., a popular assistant professor in their
department, Dr. Woodward, it seems, had conversed informally
with Marilyn and Shawn immediately after the grades had been
posted for the first exam. He expressed concern that much of
their poor performance was probably a result of test anxiety.
As a possible solution, Dr. Woodward offered to give Marilyn
and Shawn beta-blockers before the next exam to reduce their
stress response and enable them to improve their performance.
Marilyn and Shawn were hesitant at first, but Dr. Woodward
reassured them by saying, "A lot of people involved in
stressful events take beta-blockers to help them relax." Dr.
Woodward had even given them a trial dose before a regular
class meeting to convince the students that they would not
experience any adverse side effects.
After the trial dose proved uneventful, the students agreed
to take the drugs before the next exam. In hind sight, Marilyn
and Shawn admitted to Thomas that they had prepared more
diligently for the second exam, but they were quick to add that
the beta-blockers enabled them to apply their knowledge calmly.
Consequently, both students performed significantly better on
the second exam. Dr. Woodward continued to dispense
beta-blockers for Marilyn and Shawn before the third exam and
the final exam, and both students achieved satisfactory
results.
Thomas was dumbfounded as he heard the events of the past
semester recounted. He knew that Dr. Woodward used a number of
cardiovascular drugs including beta-blockers for research
purposes, but there were strict regulations against
distributing medication to humans without a proper license. In
addition, Thomas believed that potentially dangerous side
effects were associated with beta-blocker use in selected
populations.
Thomas was in a bind. He felt some responsibility to act on
his knowledge of the situation, but Dr. Woodward served on his
graduate committee and had been very generous in advising and
assisting Thomas. To further complicate matters, Dr. Woodward
was involved in the process of obtaining tenure. Information of
this nature would certainly jeopardize his promotion.
Discussion Questions
- Should Thomas act on his knowledge? If so, what should he
do, and when?
- How would your answer change if Thomas believed the
beta-blockers were completely harmless?
- Would the situation be different if Dr. Woodward were an
M.D./Ph.D.?
- Is Dr. Woodward's behavior pertinent to his ability to
conduct "good science"? to mentor graduate students?
- Do Marilyn and Shawn bear any responsibility in this
situation? Why, or why not?