Status and causes of psychological violence against general medicine students at hanoi medical university during clinical practice

Abstract

Background: Psychological violence is a serious health issue, especially for medical students in clinical practice. This study aimed to describe the prevalence and causes of psychological violence against medical students at Hanoi Medical University. 

Method: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study, qualitative and quantitative combined.

Results: Over one-third of surveyed students (113, 35.31%) witnessed and/or experienced psychological violence, and nearly one-fifth experienced at least one violent incident (61,19.06%). Medical staff were the most common perpetrators. Up to nearly ninety percent of students who witnessed and/or experienced didn’t report the incidents for a variety of reasons. The main reasons for psychological violence incidents related to students, medical staff, patients, and patients' relatives.

Conclusion:  In this study, the prevalence of witnessing and/or experiencing psychological violence against medical students during clinical practice was quite high. Three major causes were students, medical staff, patients, and patients' relatives.