Joel A. DeLisa, MD, MS and Jacob Jay Lindenthal, PhD, DrPH
Research on experiences of practicing physicians who have disabilities could help medical schools counsel applicants and increase enrollment among students with disabilities. This can ultimately improve care for patients with disabilities.
AMA J Ethics. 2016;18(10):1003-1009. doi:
10.1001/journalofethics.2016.18.10.stas1-1610.
The eradication of hazing has not diminished the socialization, camaraderie, or commitment of new recruits. The physical, emotional, and mental demands of basic training suffice to produce the outcomes previously ascribed to hazing.
Medical school faculty have a nonnegotiable duty to report students whose professional behavior falls seriously short of the mark. If they refrain from fulfilling this duty for fear of retaliation, the antiharassment pendulum has truly swung too far.
It is the clerkship director's role to advise students labeled gunners when their behavior becomes a problem, but changes in the larger system might help to prevent this behavior from occurring in the first place.
Role-playing exercises, which help participants understand the experience of being harassed, can be helpful in addressing mistreatment in medical education.
The David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA formed the Gender and Power Abuse Committee in 1995 to address mistreatment of medical students, residents, and junior faculty.