How do pharmacy school AdComs view cases of academic dishonesty?

Question: How does the committee view cases of academic dishonesty such as plagiarism.  I understand pharmacy is a discipline with firm roots in trust and honesty.  How would you like such cases to be presented to the admissions committee?

Answer: Well, it wouldn't be looked upon favorably.  Are you referring to the PCAT question on the topic of academic probation, misconduct, etc or specifically about a question asked on a supplemental or during an interview?  Or has this not yet been addressed and you are seeking advice?

I would imagine if it was an isolated event, a committee might be lenient.  Particularly, if there was a seemingly valid excuse.  My alibi would be that I simply forgot to cite a reference and see how it went.  If an applicant plagiarized an entire paper, on the other hand, that case is certainly more difficult to argue. Now that PharmCas screens essays and statements for copied material, it is more difficult to pass something off as your own.

At my institution, if there was a concern about the student's veracity in explaining the issue, I believe a member of the committee would probably contact the school and speak with the professor or dean responsible for the misconduct penalty.  Of course, we would prefer an applicant be forthcoming with a (hopefully) appropriate explanation, but contacting the school would be one way the committee might proceed.

To be clear, a transcript with misconduct is a red flag for all AdComs and that alone could keep someone out of pharmacy school.