‘If you can’t make it, you’re not tough enough to do medicine’: a qualitative study of Sydney-based medical students’ experiences of bullying and harassment in clinical settings

Abstract Background Media exposés and academic literature reveal high rates of bullying and harassment of medical students, most commonly by consultant physicians and/or surgeons. Recent reports reveal the medical profession to be characterised by hierarchy, with verbal abuse a ‘rite of passage’, as...

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Main Authors: Laura Colenbrander, Louise Causer, Bridget Haire
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: BMC 2020-03-01
Series:BMC Medical Education
Subjects:
Online Access:http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12909-020-02001-y
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spelling doaj-bc5da44e591f432a8789a7f7fb2416ca2020-11-25T03:44:38ZengBMCBMC Medical Education1472-69202020-03-0120111210.1186/s12909-020-02001-y‘If you can’t make it, you’re not tough enough to do medicine’: a qualitative study of Sydney-based medical students’ experiences of bullying and harassment in clinical settingsLaura Colenbrander0Louise Causer1Bridget Haire2The Kirby Institute, UNSW SydneyThe Kirby Institute, UNSW SydneyThe Kirby Institute, UNSW SydneyAbstract Background Media exposés and academic literature reveal high rates of bullying and harassment of medical students, most commonly by consultant physicians and/or surgeons. Recent reports reveal the medical profession to be characterised by hierarchy, with verbal abuse a ‘rite of passage’, as well as sexist and racist behaviours. Methods Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with ten current or recently graduated medical students from Sydney-based medical schools. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed. Results Hierarchy, and a culture of self-sacrifice, resilience and deference, were identified as problematic elements of the medical profession. In the minds of participants, these factors created barriers to reporting mistreatment, as participants felt reporting led to being labelled a ‘troublemaker’, affecting career progression. Additionally, participants stated that avenues of recourse were unclear and did not guarantee confidentiality or desired outcomes. Conclusions Mistreatment is continuing in clinical teaching and has negative consequences on medical students’ mental health and learning. Structural change is needed to combat institutionalised mistreatment to ensure the wellbeing of future doctors and high quality patient care.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12909-020-02001-yMedical studentsBullyingHarassmentCultureHierarchy
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Laura Colenbrander
Louise Causer
Bridget Haire
spellingShingle Laura Colenbrander
Louise Causer
Bridget Haire
‘If you can’t make it, you’re not tough enough to do medicine’: a qualitative study of Sydney-based medical students’ experiences of bullying and harassment in clinical settings
BMC Medical Education
Medical students
Bullying
Harassment
Culture
Hierarchy
author_facet Laura Colenbrander
Louise Causer
Bridget Haire
author_sort Laura Colenbrander
title ‘If you can’t make it, you’re not tough enough to do medicine’: a qualitative study of Sydney-based medical students’ experiences of bullying and harassment in clinical settings
title_short ‘If you can’t make it, you’re not tough enough to do medicine’: a qualitative study of Sydney-based medical students’ experiences of bullying and harassment in clinical settings
title_full ‘If you can’t make it, you’re not tough enough to do medicine’: a qualitative study of Sydney-based medical students’ experiences of bullying and harassment in clinical settings
title_fullStr ‘If you can’t make it, you’re not tough enough to do medicine’: a qualitative study of Sydney-based medical students’ experiences of bullying and harassment in clinical settings
title_full_unstemmed ‘If you can’t make it, you’re not tough enough to do medicine’: a qualitative study of Sydney-based medical students’ experiences of bullying and harassment in clinical settings
title_sort ‘if you can’t make it, you’re not tough enough to do medicine’: a qualitative study of sydney-based medical students’ experiences of bullying and harassment in clinical settings
publisher BMC
series BMC Medical Education
issn 1472-6920
publishDate 2020-03-01
description Abstract Background Media exposés and academic literature reveal high rates of bullying and harassment of medical students, most commonly by consultant physicians and/or surgeons. Recent reports reveal the medical profession to be characterised by hierarchy, with verbal abuse a ‘rite of passage’, as well as sexist and racist behaviours. Methods Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with ten current or recently graduated medical students from Sydney-based medical schools. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim, and thematically analysed. Results Hierarchy, and a culture of self-sacrifice, resilience and deference, were identified as problematic elements of the medical profession. In the minds of participants, these factors created barriers to reporting mistreatment, as participants felt reporting led to being labelled a ‘troublemaker’, affecting career progression. Additionally, participants stated that avenues of recourse were unclear and did not guarantee confidentiality or desired outcomes. Conclusions Mistreatment is continuing in clinical teaching and has negative consequences on medical students’ mental health and learning. Structural change is needed to combat institutionalised mistreatment to ensure the wellbeing of future doctors and high quality patient care.
topic Medical students
Bullying
Harassment
Culture
Hierarchy
url http://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s12909-020-02001-y
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