E T Owoaje1, O C Uchendu, O K Ige. 1. Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, University College Hospital Campus, Queen Elizabeth Road, Mokola, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. emeowoaje@yahoo.com
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to assess the experiences of mistreatment and harassment among final-year clinical students in a Nigerian medical school. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the various forms of mistreatment experienced by 269 students in the 2007 and 2008 graduating classes of a medical school in Nigeria. RESULTS: Almost all the respondents (98.5%) had experienced one or more forms of mistreatment during their training. The commonest forms experienced by the students were being shouted at (92.6%), public humiliation or belittlement (87.4%), negative or disparaging remarks about their academic performance (71.4%), being assigned tasks as punishment (67.7%), and someone else taking credit for work done by the student (49.4%). Religious or age discrimination was reported by 34.2%, sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based mistreatment by 33.8%, and threats of harm by 26.4%. These incidents were mainly perpetrated by physicians and occurred mostly during surgical rotations. The effects included strained relationships with the perpetrators, reduced self-confidence and depression. CONCLUSION: Most medical students experienced verbal forms of mistreatment and abuse during their training. Appropriate strategies for the prevention and reduction of medical student mistreatment should be developed.
OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to assess the experiences of mistreatment and harassment among final-year clinical students in a Nigerian medical school. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A self-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information on the various forms of mistreatment experienced by 269 students in the 2007 and 2008 graduating classes of a medical school in Nigeria. RESULTS: Almost all the respondents (98.5%) had experienced one or more forms of mistreatment during their training. The commonest forms experienced by the students were being shouted at (92.6%), public humiliation or belittlement (87.4%), negative or disparaging remarks about their academic performance (71.4%), being assigned tasks as punishment (67.7%), and someone else taking credit for work done by the student (49.4%). Religious or age discrimination was reported by 34.2%, sexual harassment and other forms of gender-based mistreatment by 33.8%, and threats of harm by 26.4%. These incidents were mainly perpetrated by physicians and occurred mostly during surgical rotations. The effects included strained relationships with the perpetrators, reduced self-confidence and depression. CONCLUSION: Most medical students experienced verbal forms of mistreatment and abuse during their training. Appropriate strategies for the prevention and reduction of medical student mistreatment should be developed.
Authors: Patricia Costa Mincoff Barbanti; Sérgio Ricardo Lopes de Oliveira; Aline Edlaine de Medeiros; Mariá Românio Bitencourt; Silvia Veridiana Zamparoni Victorino; Marcos Rogério Bitencourt; Ana Carolina Jacinto Alarcão; Paulo Acácio Egger; Fernando Castilho Pelloso; Deise Helena Pelloso Borghesan; Makcileni Paranho de Souza; Vlaudimir Dias Marques; Sandra Marisa Pelloso; Maria Dalva de Barros Carvalho Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-09-13 Impact factor: 4.614