H. E. Pierce1, L. J. Hinyard1, T. L. Schwartz1 1Saint Louis University School Of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, USA
Introduction: Surgical education has historically implemented intimidation and fear into its teaching strategies. Surgical clerkships are thought to be especially authoritarian and experiences during the clerkship may influence a student’s decision to pursue surgery. The objective of this study was to assess medical students’ perceptions of mistreatment during their surgical clerkship and the influence those experiences had on the choice of general surgery as a specialty.
Methods: A modified version of the questionnaire created and published by Dr. Scott and colleagues at the University of Sydney and Melbourne medical schools assessing medical mistreatment was sent to all third year medical students (n = 175). We received 61 completed surveys for a final response rate of 35 percent. Descriptive statistics are reported as counts and proportions.
Results: Experience of personal humiliation was reported by 32 percent of students and 30 percent had witnessed another student be humiliated. Rude behavior from an attending physician or surgical resident was reported by 63 percent of students, while 37 percent of students reported experiencing being yelled at by a resident or attending. Reporting of this mistreatment was low; 93 percent of students did not report mistreatment, even though 83 percent of respondents reported knowing where reports could be made (Table 1). Reasons for not reporting included: 1) would not have impact; 2) normalization of behavior; 3) time constraints; 4) fear of retribution. Of the 61 respondents, only 6 students reported they would be applying to general surgery for their residency and 57 percent of students stated the surgery clerkship affected their career choice.
Conclusion: Perceived mistreatment remains a common theme in medical student education. Experiences during the surgical clerkship that are felt to be humiliating, or embarrassing may deter student from pursuing a career in a surgical specialty.
