title: Relationship between medical student perceptions of mistreatment and mistreatment sensitivity.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  National statistics reveal that efforts to reduce medical student mistreatment have been largely ineffective. Some hypothesize that as supervisors gain skills in professionalism, medical students become more sensitive.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The purpose of this study was to determine if medical student perceptions of mistreatment are correlated with mistreatment sensitivity.
  
  
  METHODS
  At the end of their third year, 175 medical students completed an Abuse Sensitivity Questionnaire, focused on student assessment of hypothetical scenarios which might be perceived as abusive, and the annual Well-Being Survey, which includes measurement of incident rates of mistreatment. It was hypothesized that those students who identified the scenarios as abusive would also be more likely to perceive that they had been mistreated.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Student perceptions of mistreatment were not statistically correlated with individual's responses to the scenarios or to a statistically derived abuse sensitivity variable. There were no differences in abuse sensitivity by student age or ethnicity. Women were more likely than men to consider it "harsh" to be called incompetent during rounds (p < 0.0005).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This study provides preliminary evidence that challenges the hypothesis that medical students who perceive mistreatment by their superiors are simply more sensitive.
authors.affiliation: David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, CA, USA. bbursch@mednet.ucla.edu
authors.forename: Brenda
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bursch
authors.forename: Joyce M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fried
authors.forename: Paul F
authors.initials: PF
authors.lastname: Wimmers
authors.forename: Ian A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Cook
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baillie
authors.forename: Hannah
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zackson
authors.forename: Margaret L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Stuber
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D003068:Coercion; D004504:Education, Medical, Undergraduate; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D013337:Students, Medical / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D055815:Young Adult