A U.K. tribunal has dished out a six-month suspension to a researcher who admitted making false claims about a publication in a job application form and at an interview.
On 3 April 2023, Dr. Muhammad Basharat applied for the post of clinical fellow within NHS (National Health Service) Lothian's Cardiothoracic Intensive Care Unit. NHS Lothian is one of the 14 regions of NHS Scotland, and it provides healthcare services in the City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian, and West Lothian council areas. He then had an interview for the post on 3 May.
At a hearing that ended on 13 August 2024, the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS) stated that in or around December 2018, Basharat submitted a paper entitled "Behaviour of medical students towards the patients of leukemia and AIDS" for publication by the Indo American Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. However, he had plagiarized the work of others from the paper "Attitude of medical students towards AIDS and leukemia patients," Pakistan Journal of Medical Sciences 2012; 28(1): 187-191.
During the 2023 NHS Lothian interview with Dr. Sean Keating and two colleagues, Basharat volunteered a copy of the 2018 paper as the interviewers had been unable to find it, and he answered questions on it. Basharat, who obtained an MBBS degree in 2017 from Sheikh Zayed Medical College at the University of Health Sciences Lahore, Pakistan, knew that he had plagiarized the work, that he had not been involved in the work cited within the paper, and that this might give him an unwarranted advantage in the selection process.
After the interview, Keating and his colleagues found a copy of the 2012 publication and reviewed it in conjunction with the 2018 paper. They noted the significant similarities between the two documents, and Keating raised his concerns with the General Medical Council.
The tribunal noted that "although Dr. Basharat described the misconduct as a mistake, in fact, this was deliberate and planned dishonest conduct. It was not spur of the moment." He allowed the dishonesty to continue for more than four years, even though there were multiple occasions when he could have reconsidered his dishonest conduct, but he did not do so until others discovered his actions.
Basharat argued that English was not his native language and so his use of the word "mistake" reflected his error in translation. He accepted that his actions were deliberate and that he had "followed the wrong path," but he said this was the "first-ever wrong thing" in his professional life and he had done it at the start of his career.
Taking everything into account, the tribunal concluded that Basharat's actions amounted to serious misconduct. He now has an opportunity to appeal.
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnieeurope.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&fit=crop&h=100&q=70&w=100)
![Examples of ultrasound findings and techniques. (A) Images in a 39-year-old male patient with a mass in the left thigh. The mass is heterogeneous on the B-mode US image (compared with the patient in D) and showed increased microvascularity (superb microvascular imaging [SMI]) and shear-wave elastography (SWE) values. Undifferentiated pleomorphic sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy (with pleomorphic rhabdomyosarcoma in surgical specimen). (B) Images in an 18-year-old male patient with a mass in the left leg. The mass is hypoechoic on the B-mode image, with no other findings suggestive of malignancy. The lesion is in contact with the cortex of the tibia, which is slightly irregular. CT revealed a doubtful anteromedial tibial erosion. The microvascular study demonstrated high vascularization, suggestive of malignancy. Periosteal Ewing sarcoma was diagnosed with both histologic and immunohistochemical confirmation. (C) Images in a 69-year-old female patient with a lump growing on the outside of the left leg. Multiple SWE examinations were performed (please note the high values obtained in the measurements, whereas the color map highlights the stiffness relative to adjacent tissues). SMI showed areas of increased vascularization to target for sampling. Undifferentiated spindle cell sarcoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with residual leiomyosarcoma in the surgical specimen after neoadjuvant therapy. (D) Images in a 56-year-old female patient with a mass in the right thigh. The mass is heterogeneous at both B-mode ultrasound (similar to patient A) and MRI (coronal T2-weighted spectral attenuated inversion recovery [SPAIR]; T1-weighted pre-contrast and postcontrast imaging), which even shows uptake after the administration of paramagnetic contrast material, which is traditionally suggestive of malignancy. Low values at SMI and elastography are suggestive of benignity. Spindle cell lipoma was diagnosed at biopsy, with atypical spindle cell lipomatous tumor in the surgical specimen.](https://img.auntminnieeurope.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/08/images-radiol250278fig2.APCFLSvX6p.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
