A Survey on the Mistreatment and Belittlement Experienced by Medical Students in a Private Medical College in Malaysia
[1]
Patricia Ang Hui Xuan, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.
[2]
Yasara Devmini Eliyapura, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.
[3]
Law Chin Yung, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.
[4]
Pavitra Ravintheran, Faculty of Medicine, Melaka Manipal Medical College, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Melaka, Malaysia.
Introduction: This study is important to understand what contributes to a positive or negative learning environment in a medical school. It was conducted to determine the experiences of mistreatment and belittlement among clinical year medical students in a private medical college in Malaysia, the factors which are associated with mistreatment and belittlement, the main sources of perceived mistreatment and its impact on the psychological, academic and social aspects of the students’ lives. Method: A cross sectional study was conducted from June to July 2019 at a private medical college in Malaysia. A self-administered questionnaire comprising of 4 parts was circulated among 250 students in the MBBS programme. Chi square was calculated and the measure of association used is Odds Ratio. The level of significance is 0.05 and 95% Confidence Interval was calculated. Result: Among 250 responders, among types of abuse, 85.6% experienced being shouted or yelled at, 72% are humiliated or belittled, 58.8% had been the target of disparaging remarks or negative comments. Among types of sexual harassment, 44% experienced favouritism with 29.2% were denied opportunities based on their gender by lecturers and fellow students at the college and hospital staff and patients at hospital. Conclusion: Mistreatment and belittlement among medical students has always been a challenging issue for all medical colleges regardless of country. These results imply that it is a significant problem in Malaysian medical colleges.
Mistreatment, Belittlement, Bully, Abuse, Sexual Harassment, Medical Students, Malaysia, Clinical Training
[1]
Mavis B, Sousa A, Lipscomb W, Rappley MD. Learning About Medical Student Mistreatment from Responses to the Medical School Graduation Questionnaire. Acad Med.2014 May; 89 (5); 705-11.
[2]
Rautio A, Sunnari V, Nuutinen M, Laitala M. Mistreatment of university students most common during medical studies. BMC Medical Education. 2005; 5; 36.
[3]
Cook AF, Arora VM, Rasinski KA, Curlin FA, Yoon JD. The Prevalence of Medical Student Mistreatment and Its Association with Burnout. Acad Med. May 2014; 89 (5); 749-54.
[4]
Ali Mohamed A, Sardar Baig FB, Trakic A, Syah Mallow M, Tijani Surajudeen A. Sexual Harassment in Malaysian Educational Institutions; Causes and Solutions. IJASOS- International E-Journal of Advances in Social Sciences. 2015; 1 (1).
[5]
Baldwin DWC, Daugherty SR, Eckenfels EJ. Student perceptions of mistreatment and harassment during medical school. A survey of ten United States schools. West J Med. 1991 Aug; 155 (2); 140-145. PubMed PMID; 1926843; PubMed Central PMCID; PMC1002944.
[6]
Frank E, Carrera J, Stratton T, Bickel J, Nora LM. Experiences of belittlement and harassment and their correlates among medical students in United States; longitudinal survey. BMJ. 2006; 333; 682–688.
[7]
Nagata-Kobayashi S, Sekimoto M, Koyama H, Yamamoto W, Goto E, Fukushima O, et al. Medical Student Abuse During Clinical Clerkships in Japan. J Gen Intern Med. 2006; 21; 212.
[8]
Shoukat S, Anis M, Kella D, Qazi F, Samad F, Mir F, et al. Prevalence of Mistreatment or Belittlement among Medical Students – A Cross Sectional Survey at a Private Medical School in Karachi, Pakistan. PLOS ONE. 2010 October; 5 (10); e13429
[9]
Alzahrani H. Bullying among medical students in a Saudi medical school. BMC Research Notes. 2012 July; 5; 335.
[10]
Owoaje ET, Uchendu OC, Ige OK. Experiences of mistreatment among medical students in a University in south west Nigeria. Nigerian Niger J Clin Pract. 2012; 15 (2); 214–19
[11]
Mukhtar F, Daud S, Manzoor I, Amjad I, Saeed K, Naeem M, et al. Bullying of Medical Students. J of the College of Physicians and Surgeons Pakistan. 2010; 20 (12); 814-818.
[12]
Kapoor S, Ajinkya S, Jadhav PR. Bullying and Victimization Trends in Undergraduate Medical Students - A Self-Reported Cross-Sectional Observational Survey. J Clin Diagn Res. 2016; 10 (2); VC05–VC08.
[13]
Omar Ali SR, Mohd Said NR, Amin Mat K, Mat Zali M, Aziz N. Understanding Sexual Harassment among Undergraduate Students in Higher Education Institution in Malaysia. International J of Engineering and Technology. 2018; 7 (3.25); 702-706.
[14]
Sheehan KH, Sheehan DV, White K, Leibowitz A, Baldwin DC Jr. A pilot study of medical student ‘abuse’. Student perceptions of mistreatment and misconduct in medical school. JAMA. 1990 Jan 26; 263 (4); 533-7.
[15]
Richman JA, Flaherty JA, Rospenda KM, Christensen ML. Mental health consequences and correlates of reported medical student abuse. JAMA.1992 Feb 5; 267 (5); 692-694. PubMed PMID; 1731137.
[16]
Maida AM, Vasquez A, Herskovic V, Calderon JL, Jacard M, Pereira A et al. A report on student abuse during medical training. Med Teach. 2003 Sep; 25 (5); 497-501. PubMed PMID; 14522671.
[17]
Kassebaum DG, Cutler ER. On the culture of student abuse in medical school. Acad Med. 1998 Nov; 73 (11); 1149-58.
[18]
Wilkinson TJ, Gill DJ, Fitzjohn J, Palmer CL, Mulder RT. The impact on students of adverse experiences during medical school. Med Teach. 2006 Mar; 28 (2); 129-35. PubMed PMID; 16707293.
[19]
Subramaniam A, Silong AD, Uli J, Ismail IA. Effects of coaching supervision, mentoring supervision and abusive supervision on talent development among trainee doctors in public hospitals; moderating role of clinical learning environment. BMC Medical Education. 2015 Aug 13; 15; 129. PubMed PMID; 26268222; PubMed Central PMCID; PMC4535283.
[20]
Olasoji H. Broadening conceptions of medical student mistreatment during clinical teaching; message from a study of “toxic” phenomenon during bedside teachin. 2018; 9; 483-494. PubMed PMID; 29950919; PubMed Central PMCID; PMC6016591.
[21]
Al-Shafaee, Al-Kaabi Y, Al-Farsi Y, White G, Al-Maniri A, Al-Sinawi H et al. Pilot study on the prevalence of abuse and mistreatment during clinical internship; a cross-sectional study among first year residents in Oman. BMJ Open. 2013 Feb 8; 3 (2); e002076. PubMed PMID; 23396558; PubMed Central PMCID; PMC3585976.
[22]
Farahat TM, Abdel-Rasoul GM, Kasemy ZA, Mohammed NK. Sexual harassment among female students of Menoufia University. Menoufia Medical Journal. 2017; 30; 51-56.
[23]
Nong SNAS, Bidin A, Mohamad A, Harun N, Pauzai NA. SEXUAL HARRASSMENT AMONGST UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AT A PUBLIC UNIVERSITY IN THE EAST COAST OF PENINSULAR MALAYSIA, MALAYSIA. International Journal of Education and Research. 2013 Jul; 1 (7).
[24]
Endut N, Oon SW, Lai WT, Azmi Z, Ali SH, Hashim R. Understanding and Experiences of Sexual Harassment amongst University Students; A Case Study of Undergraduates in Universiti Sains Malaysia. IPEDR. 2011; 20.
[25]
Ismail MN, Lee KC, Chan FB. FACTORS INFLUENCING SEXUAL HARASSMENT IN THE MALAYSIAN WORKPLACE. Asian Academy of Management Journal. 2007 Jan; 12 (2).
[26]
Lee J, Opio T. Coming to America; challenges and difficulties faced by African student athletes. Sport, Education and Society. 2011 Aug 23; 16 (5); 629-644.
[27]
Wayne WD. Biostatistics: A Foundation of Analysis in the Health Sciences. 6th ed. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 1995. p. 180.
