Tamara Thomas

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More than half of all new doctors face some harassment in their first year on the job, including nearly three-quarters of all new female doctors and a third of males, according to a study published in JAMA Health Forum.
The experience of sexual harassment during physician training has been linked to worsened mental health, impaired patient care, and increased career attrition.​​  However, few studies have evaluated the trends in sexual harassment during medical studies.
For this study, Dr. Elena Frank and colleagues assessed changes in sexual harassment prevalence and interns’ ability to recognize sexual harassment from 2017 to 2023.
The survey included over 4000 doctors who finished their intern year in 2017, 2018, or 2023.
Of the interns, 2159 (51.7%) were women, and the average age of the participants was 27.
The doctors were asked directly if they had experienced sexual harassment. They were also asked how often they had specific experiences of harassment due to gender, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion.
The study revealed that 55% of the medical interns in 2023 experienced at least one form of sexual harassment. However, only 18% recognized that they had been harassed. This is an improvement from 2017, when less than 9% of interns who experienced harassment in 2017 recognized their treatment as sexual harassment.
Furthermore, the researchers observed that overall, the incidence of sexual harassment decreased from 62.8% in 2017 to 54.6% in 2023. Gender-based harassment also reduced from 61% in 2017 to 51.7% in 2017. However, sexual coercion increased among women and non-surgical interns.
Although the recognition of sexual harassment improved overall, women were more likely to recognize sexual harassment than men.
Common forms of sexual harassment reported included gender-biased comments or jokes, persistent unwanted romantic overtures, and pressure to engage in sexual activity for job-related reasons.
“This gap between experience and recognition may reflect the extent to which sexual and gender-based discriminatory behavior remains ingrained in the culture of medicine. Thus, attention must shift beyond organizational policy compliance to address climate issues unique to institutions and specialties,” the researchers wrote.
Source:<a href="https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2024-03-25/most-new-doctors-have-faced-sexual-harassment-study-shows"> US news</a>
Journal:<a href="https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama-health-forum/fullarticle/2816753?utm_source=For_The_Media&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_campaign=ftm_links&amp;utm_term=032224"> JAMA Health Forum</a>

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The experience of sexual harassment during physician training has been linked to worsened mental health

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