Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of contributors
- Prologue. Breaking the silence
- Letter from a young doctor
- Part I On caring for patients
- Section 2 Problems in truth-telling
- Section 3 Setting boundaries
- Part II On becoming a “team player”: searching for esprit de corps and conflicts of socialization
- Section 4 Abuse and mistreatment
- 12 Psychological abuse: subjected to humiliating and belittling behavior
- 13 Physical abuse: actual physical harm
- 14 Sexual abuse: sexist slurs and sexual advances
- Section 5 Argot, jargon, and questionable humor: assuming the mantle at the patient's expense
- Section 6 Making waves: questioning authority and the status quo
- Section 7 Perceiving misconduct and whistle-blowing: observing peers or superiors commit an act deemed unethical
- Epilogue: Using this book
- Glossary
- Index
12 - Psychological abuse: subjected to humiliating and belittling behavior
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 February 2015
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgments
- List of contributors
- Prologue. Breaking the silence
- Letter from a young doctor
- Part I On caring for patients
- Section 2 Problems in truth-telling
- Section 3 Setting boundaries
- Part II On becoming a “team player”: searching for esprit de corps and conflicts of socialization
- Section 4 Abuse and mistreatment
- 12 Psychological abuse: subjected to humiliating and belittling behavior
- 13 Physical abuse: actual physical harm
- 14 Sexual abuse: sexist slurs and sexual advances
- Section 5 Argot, jargon, and questionable humor: assuming the mantle at the patient's expense
- Section 6 Making waves: questioning authority and the status quo
- Section 7 Perceiving misconduct and whistle-blowing: observing peers or superiors commit an act deemed unethical
- Epilogue: Using this book
- Glossary
- Index
Summary
CASE
“You idiot! What are you doing in medical school?”
Five of us were working together dissecting a cadaver in anatomy lab. It was day three of the course and there were two hours left to complete the day's assignment. The student who self-appointed herself as the group leader was assertive and eager to dissect but had botched up one dissection already, making it difficult to identify certain parts of the anatomy. Another student decided to confront her and said, “You idiot! You've completely destroyed this cadaver! What are you doing in medical school?”
I was very worried about not getting the assignments done on time and debated with myself about involving the preceptor, but I didn't know how to proceed.
CASE
“I would knock you to the floor”
I was a third year medical student on a largely surgical obstetrics and gynecology rotation. We rounded on patients at 7: 00 a.m. and I was responsible for one of the four patients on the postsurgical floor. My responsibility required getting up early, checking out her vital signs, talking to her about what was going on with her, asking about any pain she might be experiencing, going over her medications and her history. I had to make sure I knew everything.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Ward EthicsDilemmas for Medical Students and Doctors in Training, pp. 136 - 141Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001