Do attending physicians, nurses, residents, and medical students agree on what constitutes medical student abuse?
BACKGROUND
Whether attending physicians, residents, nurses, and medical students agree on what constitutes medical student abuse, its severity, or influencing factors is unknown.


METHODS
We surveyed 237 internal medicine attending physicians, residents, medical students, and nurses at 13 medical schools after viewing five vignettes depicting potentially abusive behaviors.


RESULTS
The majority of each group felt the belittlement, ethnic insensitivity, and sexual harassment scenarios represented abuse but that excluding a student from participating in a procedure did not. Only a majority of attending physicians considered the negative feedback scenario as abuse. Medical students rated abuse severity significantly lower than other groups in the belittlement scenario (p<.05). Respondents who felt abused as students were more likely to rate behaviors as abusive (p<.05).


CONCLUSIONS
The groups generally agree on what constitutes abuse, but attending physicians and those abused as students may perceive more behaviors as abusive.
Ogden
Paul E
PE
Texas A & M University, 2401 South 31 Street, Temple, TX 76508, USA. pogden@swmail.sw.org
Wu
Edward H
EH
Elnicki
Michael D
MD
Battistone
Michael J
MJ
Cleary
Lynn M
LM
Fagan
Mark J
MJ
Friedman
Erica
E
Gliatto
Peter M
PM
Harrell
Heather E
HE
Jennings
May S
MS
Ledford
Cynthia H
CH
Mechaber
Alex J
AJ
Mintz
Matthew
M
O'Brien
Kevin
K
Thomas
Matthew R
MR
Wong
Raymond Y
RY
D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007396:Internship and Residency; D008297:Male; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D010820:Physicians / Q000523:psychology*; D011287:Prejudice; D017406:Sexual Harassment; D012919:Social Behavior; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014743:Videotape Recording