Perception of Medical Student Mistreatment: Does Specialty Matter?

Purpose Results questioning and negative feedback), Medical student mistreatment is Six-hundred fifty resident and attending while family physicians perceived more pervasive, yet whether all physicians have physicians participated. There were mistreatment in 1 scenario (negative a shared understanding of the problem statistically significant differences feedback) compared with internal is unclear. The authors presented in perception of mistreatment medicine physicians. The mean severity professionally designed trigger videos to across specialties for 3 of the 5 of perceived mistreatment on a 1 to physicians from 6 different specialties to scenarios: aggressive questioning 7 scale (7 most serious) also varied determine if they perceive mistreatment (range, 74.1%–91.2%), negative statistically significantly across the and its severity similarly. feedback (range, 25.4%–63.7%), specialties for 3 scenarios: aggressive and assignment of inappropriate questioning (range, 4.4–5.4; P < .001), Method tasks (range, 5.5%–25.5%) (P ≤ ethnic insensitivity (range, 5.1–6.1; From October 2016 to August 2018, .001, for all). After adjusting for P = .001), and sexual harassment resident and attending physicians gender, race, professional role, and (range, 5.5–6.3; P = .004). from 10 U.S. medical schools viewed 5 prior mistreatment, physicians in trigger videos showing behaviors that surgery viewed 3 scenarios (aggressive Conclusions could be perceived as mistreatment. questioning, negative feedback, and Specialty was associated with differences They completed a survey exploring their inappropriate tasks) as less likely to in the perception of mistreatment and perceptions. The authors compared represent mistreatment compared rating of its severity. Further investigation perceptions of mistreatment across with internal medicine physicians. is needed to understand why these specialties and, for each scenario, Physicians from obstetrics–gynecology perceptions of mistreatment vary among evaluated the relationship between and “other” specialties perceived less specialties and how to address these specialty and perception of mistreatment. mistreatment in 2 scenarios (aggressive differences.