Intimidation in medical education: students' and teachers' perspectives

Instances of intimidation and harassment of junior doctors and medical students have been widely reported in the literature. Studies to date have mostly focused on the incidence of perceived mistreatment and have not explored the causes of or responses to it. This article reports findings from an ethnographic study of a single British medical school. It includes students' accounts of their experiences of and responses to intimidation, and doctors' views on, and in some cases justifications for, using intimidation in their teaching. The findings suggest that the use of intimidation was accepted within the culture of the medical school. Possible explanatory factors are discussed, including the gendered nature of the profession, and the functions which intimidation may fulfil.