Relationship between medical student perceptions of mistreatment and mistreatment sensitivity

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. Aims: The purpose of this study was to determine if medical student perceptions of mistreatment are correlated with mistreatment sensitivity. Method: 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). Conclusion: This study provides preliminary evidence that challenges the hypothesis that medical students who perceive mistreatment by their superiors are simply more sensitive.