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Bullying Is Rife in U.S. Medical Schools

An editorialist suggests that medical students are more likely to feel harassed and belittled than students in other professional education programs.

A new prospective study looks at harassment in U.S. medical schools, with disturbing results.

More than 2000 students, all from the class of 2003 at 16 U.S. medical schools, completed questionnaires at first-year orientation, at the beginning of their clinical rotations, and during their fourth year. The second and third surveys addressed the issues of harassment and belittlement.

By the last questionnaire, 27% of students reported having been harassed by housestaff, 21% by faculty, and 25% by patients; 71% reported having been belittled by housestaff, 63% by faculty members, and 43% by patients. Only 13% of students rated these experiences as severe. No one specialty was more likely to engage in harassment or belittling, but students going into family practice were more likely to report having been harassed or belittled. Mistreated students were significantly more likely to be stressed, to be depressed or suicidal, and to drink alcohol.

Comment: These data confirm that most medical students feel harassed or belittled during their training. Especially disturbing is the observed relation between these experiences and various psychopathologies (although it is unclear whether harassment provokes depression and alcohol use, or whether depressed or alcohol-using students have a lowered threshold for perceiving certain behaviors as harassment). An editorialist suggests that these experiences occur more often in medical education than in other professional programs, and that the environment that permits them should be changed. At the time of publication, the full text of the original article was available free of charge.

— Keith I. Marton, MD

Published in Journal Watch General Medicine November 21, 2006

Citation(s):

Frank E et al. Experiences of belittlement and harassment and their correlates among medical students in the United States: Longitudinal survey. BMJ 2006 Sep 30; 333:682-4.

• Original article (Subscription may be required)
• Medline abstract (Free)

Wood DF. Bullying and harassment in medical schools. BMJ 2006 Sep 30; 333:664-5.

• Original article (Subscription may be required)
• Medline abstract (Free)