ArticleBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2006
Experiences of belittlement and harassment and their correlates among medical students in the United States: longitudinal survey.
Article in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 85 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
85 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 248 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sexual Harassment, Abuse, and Discrimination in Obstetrics and Gynecology: A Systematic Review.JAMA network open · 2024Pooled it
- Women's leadership in academic medicine: a systematic review of extent, condition and interventions.BMJ open · 2020Pooled it
- #MEDToo - sexual harassment in medical education: perceptions and coping strategies of medical students in Germany, a qualitative study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Training under the threat in South Africa: bullying of medical students by clinicians-a scoping review protocol.BMJ public health · 2026Article
- Bullying among medical students: prevalence, determinants, and implications for the educational environment.Frontiers in medicine · 2026Article
- How widespread is bullying in university-affiliated hospitals in Isfahan? a cross-sectional study from Iran.Journal of medical ethics and history of medicine · 2026Article
- Prevalence and determinants of academic bullying among medical and dental students in Jordan.Frontiers in health services · 2026Article
- In Which Scenarios Do Preceptors and Students Agree, Disagree, or Remain Neutral About Learner Mistreatment?Medical science educator · 2025Article
- Prevalence of workplace bullying among medical students: A meta-analysis and systematic review protocol.PloS one · 2025Article
- How Preceptor Behaviour Shapes the Future of Medical Professionals.Advances in medical education and practice · 2025Article
- Raising Awareness of Mistreatment Policies and Reporting Procedures Using a Novel Medical Student Mobile Application.Journal of general internal medicine · 2025Article
- Article
- Prevalence and Impact of Workplace Sexual Harassment Experienced by Medical Sonographers.Journal of ultrasound in medicine : official journal of the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine · 2024Article
- Prevalence and Characteristics of Medical Student Mistreatment in Lebanon.International journal of public health · 2024Article
- Intimidation or harassment among family medicine residents in Saskatchewan: a cross-sectional survey.Canadian medical education journal · 2023Article
- Violence and Clinical Learning Environments in Medical Residencies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- An exploratory university-based cross-sectional study of the prevalence and reporting of mistreatment and student-related factors among Thai medical students.BMC medical education · 2023Article
- Medical student perceptions and experiences of incivility: a qualitative study.BMC medical education · 2023Article
- Trends in medical students' health over 5 years: Does a wellbeing curriculum make a difference?The International journal of social psychiatry · 2023Article
- Article
25 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo determine medical students' perceptions of having been harassed or belittled and their correlates, for the purposes of reducing such abuses.
designLongitudinal survey.
setting16 nationally representative US medical schools.
participants2884 students from class of 2003.
main outcome measuresExperiences of harassment and belittlement at freshman orientation, at entry to wards, and in senior year by other students, by residents or fellows, by preclinical professors, by clinical professors or attendings, or by patients.
results2316 students provided data (response rate 80.3%). Among seniors, 42% (581/1387) reported having experienced harassment and 84% (1166/1393) belittlement during medical school. These types of abuse were caused by other students (11% (158/1389) and 32% (443/1390) of students experienced such harassment or belittlement, respectively). Harassment and belittlement was also caused by residents (27% (374/1387) and 71% (993/1393)), preclinical professors (9% (131/1386) and 29% (398/1385)), clinical professors (21% (285/1386) and 63% (878/1390)), and patients (25% (352/1387) and 43% (592/1388)). Only 13% (181/1385) of students classified any of these experiences as severe. Medical students who reported having been harassed or belittled did not differ significantly from those not reporting such experiences by sex, ethnicity, political orientation, or religion. They did differ significantly by chosen specialty and were significantly more likely to be stressed, depressed, and suicidal, to drink alcohol or to binge drink, and to state that their faculty did not care about medical students. They were also significantly less likely to be glad they trained to become a doctor.
conclusionMost medical students in the United States report having been harassed or belittled during their training. Although few students characterised the harassment or belittlement as severe, poor mental health and low career satisfaction were significantly correlated with these experiences.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.