Bullying and undermining are too common in medical training, according to the General Medical Council (GMC). A survey of the 50,000 doctors in training found nearly one in ten reporting that they had been bullied, while nearly one in seven said they had witnessed it in the workplace.
While the survey shows that systems are generally working well, it suggests there are still areas that need to be improved. The GMC argues that bullying and undermining can affect the safety of patients as it can make doctors in training more reluctant to report concerns. Examples of bullying and undermining include belittling or humiliation and threatening or insulting behaviour.
One doctor in training who responded to the survey said: “If you get on the wrong side of a consultant it may have a big impact on your future career. I’ve experienced this myself and it definitely makes me think twice about reporting instances of bullying, either locally or to the GMC.”
Niall Dickson, chief executive of the General Medical Council, said: “There is a need to create a culture where bullying of any kind is simply not tolerated. Apart from the damage it can do to individual self-confidence, it is likely to…
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