Henning MA, Stonyer J, Chen Y, Hove BAT, Moir F, Coomber T, Webster CS. Medical Students' Self-Perceptions of Harassment During Clinical Placement.
MEDICAL SCIENCE EDUCATOR 2024;
34:103-112. [PMID:
38510407 PMCID:
PMC10948714 DOI:
10.1007/s40670-023-01926-5]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 10/19/2023] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Objectives
Exploring workplace dynamics during clinical placement is crucial to determine whether medical students are encountering safe and meaningful learning experiences. The aim of this original article is to describe medical students' reported harassment experiences whilst on clinical placement.
Design
Medical students in years 4 to 6 were invited to participate in the survey. In this mixed-methods study, data collection included demographic information, responses to the Generalized Workplace Harassment Questionnaire, and qualitative commentaries.
Results
Two hundred and five students completed the questionnaire. Medical students experienced harassment in areas of verbal aggression, disrespect, isolation/exclusion, threats/bribes, and physical aggression. Concerning levels of occurrence were noted for disrespect, isolation/exclusion, and verbal aggression.
Conclusions
Many medical students in this study reported experiencing harassment during their clinical placements indicating that harassment during clinical placement continues to be of concern in medical education. The findings indicate that further initiatives need to be designed to identify and respond to these cases of workplace harassment and that power imbalance and safe reporting appear to be further issues of concern. It was evident that students need to feel safe enough to be able to report harassment experiences to allow managers and educators to address the full extent of the problem.
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